The Dark Side of the Internet

I could go on and on about the great internet. It has made finding and obtaining information so easy. It has given me the ability to remain friends with those who do not live in close proximity. It has opened up the world to endless possibilities. It has brought mankind to a whole new technological era. We are smarter, we have improved and we are constantly finding ways to make our lives easier.

But alas, somethings threaten the peace of the internet.

"It is very necessary that we should not flinch from seeing what is vile and debasing. There is filth on the floor, and it must be scraped up with the muck rake; and there are times and places where this service is the most needed of all the services that can be performed. But the man who never does anything else, who never thinks or speaks or writes, save of his feats with the muck rake, speedily becomes, not a help but one of the most potent forces for evil.

There are in the body politic, economic and social, many and grave evils, and there is urgent necessity for the sternest war upon them. There should be relentless exposure of and attack upon every evil man, whether politician or business man, every evil practice, whether in politics, business, or social life. I hail as a benefactor every writer or speaker, every man who, on the platform or in a book, magazine, or newspaper, with merciless severity makes such attack, provided always that he in his turn remembers that the attack is of use only if it is absolutely truthful."

- Theodore Roosevelt

Wikileaks is a website that specializes in revealing top-secret information. It is not just your average celebrity gossip page - but one that deals with information such as government documents. It was a big thing - as we could see insider stuff for the first time and this caused us to reevaluate how we view democracy of the internet.

I feel that somethings aren't meant to be seen by the public. For one, we are not prepared enough to deal with this kind of information. Secondly, we would interpret it wrongly, and Wikileaks could cause some kind of social warfare, blind faith/hatred and even threaten world peace.

This boils down to the question of responsible information sharing. Are we doing it right, or are we slowly contributing to the downfall of humanity?