Abu Ghraib Files - Salon.com News
So now that Abu Ghraib is closed, does that mean it is ok to release all of this information. I think so yes. I've always believed information is power and the more information the individuals in our society has the more we'll be able to sustain that society. The idea of one man, one vote is one of our founding principles, well okay, some were 2/3 but we fixed that soon enough. If we give more information to those people who are meant to decide our leaders and our policies (through the power of voting) then they must have all the available information they can get their hands on and good information as well.
While all this doesn't really apply here per SE, it does in a figurative sense as we would not be seeing this giant collection of photos and videos had Abu Ghraib not been shut down. The powers would have stopped their release. Of course many of these photos have been published elsewhere prior to this but here in one easy to swallow article? Not likely before the closure. So now if someone asks why these weren't released prior they can just say "well, it's closed now."
Sure, you could argue the 'mob mentality' you get when you give too much information to too many people at once...
"A person is smart, people are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals, and you know it."
- Tommy Lee Jones, "Men In Black"
...That is something you just have to deal with though. If the mob is mad, it's because something is fucked up. Whether you agree with it or not, power comes in quantity. Quantity of information and of people. And unless more people start speaking up, start paying attention to the details, start simply caring about the entire world they live in and not just our red, white and blue bubble, nothing will ever be changed.
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