"The Streisand effect is a primarily online phenomenon in which an attempt to hide or remove a piece of information has the unintended consequence of perversely causing the information to be publicized more widely and to a greater extent than would have occurred if no contrary action had been attempted."

-Wikipedia.com http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streisand_effect

1) Why are we so fascinated by the concept of secrets? According to the New Zealand Herald, the Barbra Streisand effect is keeping Wikileaks online. Various times, when the site was attempted to be shut down, "mirror image" sites popped up. In other words, several more sites with the same information popped up to replace Wikileaks whenever it was taken offline, duplicating instead of destroying the information. The mirror sites are "a replica of the contents of the original site, ensuring that the thousands of US diplomatic cables WikiLeaks has been leaking since last Sunday remain available for inspection." ("How the Barbra Streisand Effect keeps WikiLeaks online." The New Zealand Herald. Dec. 2010. LexisNexis. Jan. 2011)

Why does forbidden material become what people are most interested in? In the Greek myth, Pandora was forbidden to open the box. However, her curiosity got the better of her. (When she opened the box, she wound up releasing evil and sin into the world. ["Pandora." TheOI.com. Jan. 2011. <http://www.theoi.com/Heroine/Pandora.html>] This story demonstrates the stress society places on KEEPING SECRETS HIDDEN, while simultaneously demonstrating the human tendency to WANT to EXPOSE secrets). Why do we experience the Streisand effect?

Maybe it is resisting the feeling of repression, as the New Zealand Herald also says: "the strong libertarian sensibility shared by large parts of the online community means that any hint of censorship provokes an instant riposte designed to produce the opposite effect" ("How the Barbra Streisand Effect keeps Wikileaks online." The New Zealand Herald. Dec. 2010. LexisNexis. Jan. 2011). In other words, perhaps this phenomenon arises as a strong, sudden defense thrown up against the feeling of censorship, repression, control, or being trapped. Perhaps it is a survival instinct. Whatever the reason, the phenomenon is very real.

The APS Observer details experiments in which, "[w]hen a subject was released from suppression and told to express a hidden thought, it poured out with greater frequency than if it had been mentionable from the start." Also, "People will tend to misread the return of unwanted thoughts," Wegner said recently. "We don't realize that in keeping it secret we've created an obsession in a jar." Daniel Wegner claims that, when we catch ourselves repressing a thought, we assume that this thought must be valid. This is perhaps most clearly demonstrated by relationships. We've all had that friend who made fun of us for hanging out with a member of the opposite sex. "Rachyl and fill-in-the-blank, sitting in a tree... you guys are in loooove!" Even if there is no such mutual attraction, the feeling that we have to prove others wrong can sometimes convince us that we actually feel a more-than-friends attraction to our friend. Then everything is messed up. Wegner says, "We can end up...interested in things that aren't at all important, because we had to keep them quiet" Therefore, perhaps another reason that people tend to want to expose secrets is that "the logical opposite of an unhealthy obsession based on secrets is a healthy result from disclosing such secrets." Releasing secrets can be psychologically liberating. The article shows "evidence that divulging a secret, which can mean anything from telling someone to writing it on a piece of paper that is later burned, is correlated with tangible health improvements, both physical and mental."

(Jaffe, Eric. "The Science Behind Secrets.APS Observer. July 2006. http://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/getArticle.cfm?id=2015) Important note: "Secrets that could be considered "non-personal," for example, information concealed as part of a job, were not specifically addressed."

The question is, however, how much of this is coming into play in regard to the public reaction to Wikileaks. When the government tries to shut down Wikileaks, why does the public recreate the site multiple times over? How much is due to the psychological aspect, and how much is due to other factors - such as the actual importance of releasing this information to the public? (To be explored later.)

2) I discussed the question of why the public wants to expose secrets; but I also wonder why those in charge wanted to hide the secrets in the first place. Most people fear having their secrets exposed. It is a common fear. Is this because we worry what people will think of us when they know the truth? Is it because we don't want to admit the truth to ourselves? Is it a combination of both?

Republicans such as Sarah Palin and George Bush often preach the importance of keeping certain information from being leaked to the public ("Right Wing Reaction To Wikileaks - Cenk Attack on MSNBC." Youtube.com http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhD0pgs44JI). Many of the general public also believe that leaking the government's confidential information is dangerous. ("Nov. 30th, 2010 Timescast." Vimeo.com http://vimeo.com/17339983). However, many others argue for leaks. For example, in a Times Newscast from 2010, Bill Keller claims that when lives aren't put at risk, the government may disapprove of the leaked information but not enough to put a stop to it. ("Nov. 30th, 2010 Timescast." Vimeo.com http://vimeo.com/17339983). Plus, there is a large population of the public who believe that information should be out there for the public to know the truth. There are definitely opinions on both sides. "The White House has called Assange's release of the diplomatic cables "reckless and dangerous" while sources in the Kremlin linked to President Dmitry Medvedev suggested that he "could be awarded a Nobel prize." ("Julian Assange." Wikipedia.com. Jan 2011. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Assange). How important is it that the government keeps certain secrets?

Jean-Jacques Rousseau invented the literary medium of the "confession," in which one honestly confesses every part of his own life in order to tell a story. Several autobiographical novels or memoirs follow such a pattern. Plus, this phenomenon exists on a general level as well. People constantly confess their feelings in facebook statuses. If one searches "confessions" on youtube or google, it is obvious that confessing one's secrets is a common phenomenon. People talk about the importance of confessions ("The Secret EXposed" Youtube.com http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5v-DymTs3M). People confess in songs, internet video, novels, etc. Postsecret.com, secrettalk.com, and other such sites also show that sometimes it can feel liberating to let go of secrets. Confessions are happening all over the place.

So, if confessing seems to be a rather popular notion, then how come most of the time, we feel that we have to keep these secrets instead of confessing them? What makes us want to keep our secrets... What makes the authorities try to shut down Wikileaks?

What would it REALLY hurt if people knew the truth? The public? The politicians? The country? Anyone? No one?

In The Secret EXposed, the creator of the video says, "The key point is that I fear [for] survival, and the mind is just this extreme form that allows me not only to analyze everything around me but to make judgments about it" ("The Secret EXposed Youtube.com http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5v-DymTs3M). Why do we feel like keeping secrets from ourselves and others will keep us safe? Is it because it causes us to withhold judgement? Do we fear that JUDGEMENT might cause people to alienate us? Long ago, people had to make a positive impression on their group or family. If they were alienated, they would die. How does this instinct for survival carry over into our minds today? Does this instinct interfere with the truth?

Does it ACTUALLY decrease our safety to expose our secrets? Are there multiple answers to this question? As James Pennebaker said, "Most people in psychology have been trained to think of a single, parsimonious explanation for an event," ...Well, welcome to the real world. There are multiple levels of explanation here." (Jaffe, Eric. "The Science Behind Secrets.APS Observer. July 2006.)

In the end, the questions are: why does the public feel the urge for secrets to be exposed? How appropriate is it that those in charge want to keep certain information secret or classified? And which opinion is correct?

3) Now, to explore the earlier question, "how much of the public's wish to expose secrets arises from actual necessity, and how much from psychological motives?" Drew Broach says, "Sure, George W. Bush might have tipped his enemy to his intentions had he shared with the public the information that led him to wage war in Iraq. But just as surely the public would have been able to form intelligent opinions about whether war was the right course and worth the expense of thousands of lives and billions of dollars." http://blog.nola.com/editorials/2009/05/why_government_shouldnt_keep_s.html This displays the duplicity of the Wikileaks controversy. Which is more important - that we protect the US from Iraqi spies, or that we allow the US access to real information about current politics? Which will benefit us more?

In my personal opinion, I believe that the true access to government information will benefit us more.

a) If the government is open to the public, however difficult, we will gain some abstract qualities. We will TRUST the government more or less, depending on which is accurate. If we pass a NEGATIVE JUDGEMENT on the TRUTH of a situation, the situation can be changed because we are a democratic society. I feel that politicians are paranoid about exposing the truth. Yes, there is often controversy when a shocking detail about the truth is revealed to the public. They might even be thrown out of office. However, if someone would get thrown out of office when they knew the truth, they SHOULD STILL BE THROWN OUT OF OFFICE. We are so obsessed with keeping secrets because we KNOW that, even though no one else might know, the secret still is (or may still be) the TRUTH. On the other hand, if our government is doing a perfect job of managing everything, why should we not know this either? We, the people, should have the power to effect change. In order to know what needs to be changed, we need to know the truth.

b) If the government is open to the public, the public will be more educated. We will become more beneficially involved in criticism, reform, and positive critiques of the government. The more people we have involved in strengthening our government, the better we will stand as a nation.

c) If the government doesn't try to keep secrets, the psychological effects would be different than we might imagine. Normally, when people expose secrets, they feel better; and in the end, the people who discover the truth feel better. It will take a long time, and it may be gnarly and difficult, and we might even have some huge conflicts between the government and the two sides of people in our country. But why should that stop us? Difficult progress is better than ignoring the truth and remaining static. In the end, people who know the truth are ENLIGHTENED. An enlightened country is a better country.