Hackers like Julian Assange and many of his supporters have no patience.
In the hacker mindset, a single clever individual is pitted against a complex system designed to keep them out. The hacker wins if he can spot a flaw in the complex system and exploit it. End of game. Outcomes, like the systems used in the hacker's world, are binary. You either win or the big bad complex system defeats you. Hackers want to believe that government and its minions are involved in obfuscation and that they have been somehow excluded from the decision-making process.
How many of these hackers have ever applied to join DFAT, the ADF, or our intelligence agencies? How many have ever run for political office? How many have involved themselves in the painstaking and lengthy process of fact-checking and background research that sets proper investigative journalism above the stolen-information fencing that WikiLeaks represents?
What sets democracies apart is that anyone can apply to work for government or be a politician and have an equal chance of being successful. But it takes patience, hard work, and an ability to work with others. Hackers want quick results for little investment, and they work alone.
As Sam mentioned earlier, the voices absent from this debate are the thousands of Australians working in government agencies. They are prevented from commenting on WikiLeaks – but more importantly, they're getting on with the business of government. Democratic governments like those in Australia and the US won't always get everything right but at least they're trying to build society in ways that are complex and take time. Thoughtless destruction of complex systems helps no one but the hackers themselves.
Photo by Flickr user José Goulão.
