It Just Takes One

This is isn't going to be as profound and as serious, I guess, as the previous posts are. So there, a disclaimer of sorts because really, this post has just one point!

One of the things that really struck me when I watched BBC's Virtual Revolution documentary, was the idea (in this case, the reality) that one person can essentially liberate or damn a whole nation. Imagine that: ONE PERSON. And the beauty of this is that this one person doesn't have to be extraordinarily famous, rich, or well-connected. This one person just has to be motivated enough to see something happen and tech-savvy enough to carve something for himself out of the Internet. In short, this one person can be any John or Jane we see in the street. This one person can be ORDINARY.

Yes, I know, history details many many movements that started with one person: Mahatma Gandhi, Paul Revere ("The British are coming!" started the movement for the Americans to drive out the Brits), just to name a few. Their voice started the ball rolling and the support they gathered along the way allowed for the cause to gain momentum and eventually send out a successful message or effect action. I'm sure there were many more, but you get the idea. Let's just put it this way: These people were the wicks that served as a way to ignite the whole darn load of TNT.

But with new software (I use the term for the lack of a better one) like Haystack (created by a kind-hearted computer genius to bypass the Iranian information filter allowing Iranians access to censorship-free cyberspace to get country-related news out to the world) essentially one person is the wick and the TNT combined! Whereas before you needed a large number of people to get something done, the advent of the internet has allowed people to be a movement all on their own! This one person gave one country back its voice. ONE COUNTRY. If one person can do all that, what can one person not be capable of doing through the net? The answer? NOTHING. Isn't that both amazing and scary at the same time? What comes to mind is Uncle Ben's (you know, from Spiderman?!): "With great power comes great responsibility." With Haystacks' creator, it was a good thing he used his power for good. Whew.

With a site like WikiLeaks that allows for sensitive and private documents to come into public scrutiny, the idea of that all powerful ONE PERSON is exhibited at its finest. Here, one person can divulge information where he otherwise couldn't have anywhere else. And there it is again, he can build or ruin something as singular as a life or something as big as a multi-national billion-dollar company. That in itself is a double-edged sword! Imagine if the information were true, then well and good. However, if it wasn't, reputations will be razed all thanks to a rumor. Wow.

So thanks to the Internet with its sites like Haystack and WikiLeaks, the power really can lie in each of our hands. Because really, it just takes one.