Thread by @caitoz

Let's Be Absolutely Clear What's At Stake In The Assange Case

"For this reason, this isn’t just about journalism: we really are collectively deciding the fate of our species with our response to the prospect of Assange's extradition."
#WeAreAllAssange
caitlinjohnstone.substack.com/p/lets-be-abso…

When it comes to human behavior, things only change for the better when there is a lucid and unobstructed perception of what's going on.

Whether you're talking about individuals or humanity in its entirety, the story of human progress has always been a story of moving from blindness to seeing. From unawareness to awareness. From the lights in the room being off to the lights being switched on.

There is no progress without clear seeing. We cannot move in the direction of health and harmony if we cannot lucidly perceive the ways in which we are still sick and dysfunctional. We can't move forward if we're unaware of the specific ways in which we are stuck in place.

The struggle for our species, which is really the struggle for our very survival, is therefore between the many who desire truth and the few who desire confusion. We've got numbers and truth on our side, but they have power, wealth, and a remarkable knack for manipulation.

We see this struggle playing out in many ways. Between propaganda and truth. Between internet censorship and free speech. Between government secrecy and freedom of information. Between the campaign to imprison Assange for exposing US war crimes, and the campaign to free him.

On Monday January 4th a UK judge will be ruling on whether or not to allow the process of Assange's extradition to the United States to move forward. It's important for opponents of this extradition to be aware that the fight will not end at this time:

https://twitter.com/AnonScan/status/1344651896787709954?s=20

So as we prepare for the next stage in this fight, it's important for us to be perfectly clear what's at stake here.

If the US succeeds in normalizing the legality of extraditing any journalist who exposes it, there will be a worldwide cooling effect on natsec journalism which will greatly impede humanity's ability to form a lucid and unobstructed understanding of what's going on in the world.

There is no legal case in the world right now where the struggle for lucid and unobstructed seeing has so much on the line. So this isn’t just about journalism: we really are collectively deciding the fate of our species with our response to the prospect of Assange's extradition.

Are we going to allow the most powerful government on the planet to set a legal precedent which allows it to obstruct truth around the entire world? Or are we going to oppose this tooth and claw?

Are we going to allow power to remain corrupt and unaccountable? Or are we going to insist on our right to know what's going on?

Are we going to let them keep the lights off? Or are we going to turn them on?

Are we going to let the bastards lock us into an omnicidal, ecocidal status quo as they drive us toward extinction and dystopia? Or are we going to move toward the kind of lucid and unobstructed perception of our situation which will allow us to progress into a healthy world?

These are the questions that we are in the process of answering together. I hope we can get everyone to very seriously consider what they want their own answer to be.