J.D. Tuccille on the Year Defiance of the State Became Cool

For
some high-profile people who publicly told the government to go to
hell, 2013 was, personally, a bit rough. Information freedom
activist Aaron Swartz took his own life under threat of a brutal
prison sentence. Revealer of inconvenient government secrets
Bradley/Chelsea Manning actually ended up in prison. And
surveillance whistleblower Edward Snowden went into exile in Russia
to escape what promised to be a “fair” trial followed by a
first-class hanging. But tough consequences aren’t unusual for
people who defy the state. What was different and encouraging,
writes J.D, Tuccille, was how many people rallied behind Swartz,
Manning, Snowden, and other rebels, explicitly siding with them
over the government, in opposition to the powers-that-be.

View this article.