FRANK SILVERSON’S REFLECTION: THE ULTIMATE LEAK
I am taking a brief hiatus from working on the Part 2s of my articles on “Gambling – Addiction or Choice” and “Contemplations of an extra-marital affair: a didactic”, to focus on the eminent and polemic subject of the moment.
An interesting quote from Charles Sanford reads, “Secrets are made to be found out with time.” It is on this premise that the revelations from WikiLeaks do not astonish me as much as it does others. After all, as Benjamin Franklin noted, “Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.” Kahlil Gibran rightly adds, “If you reveal your secrets to the wind, you should not blame the wind for revealing them to the trees.” Further, a French proverb sums it up this way, “When a secret is revealed, it is the fault of the man who confided it”.
Considering the tranche of leaks in the last few days, I have been in reflection about the real world we live in. It is not surprising now to construe that the smiles we find on the faces of our leaders are just a mere façade. They mask their real intents with so-called diplomatic decorum. Their overt behaviour is meant to conceal their covert motivations. I am sure you have come across people who hide their true motives to satisfy the status quo. They do so with a view not to jeopardise their positions. Would it not be acceptable for people to make their real intentions known in as fair and truthful a manner as possible and not employ the aid of skulduggery?
I do not intend to pass judgement on the actions of Julian Assange (the founder of WikiLeaks) but draw analogies from the stories published and their ramifications thereof. This medium is not for recounting the stories published. His motivations may be questioned by some with a debate ensuing incessantly. These leaks actually plunged me in a mood of deep thought about a more important and impending leak – The Ultimate Leak.
On Sunday 28th November 2010, WikiLeaks began publishing 251,287 leaked United States embassy cables, the largest set of confidential documents ever to be released into the public domain. The documents aim to give people around the world an unprecedented insight into the US Government's foreign activities. The cables, which date from 1966 to the end of February this year, contain confidential communications between 274 embassies in countries throughout the world and the State Department in Washington DC. 15,652 of the cables are classified Secret.
In a rather risible admission, Hillary Clinton stated that she had been on the phone with some of their allies and they had assured her not to worry as they (the US) do not also know what they are saying about them.
If these leaks are enough to cause those mentioned to quake in their boots whiles fathoming a way out of the state of trepidation, then I wonder what the Ultimate Leak would do. Just picture a situation of having your whole life leaked? Are you going to be embarrassed or excited?
The US diplomats did not expect the information they were relaying to be made public. I am tempted to believe that if they did, they may not have said some of the things that they said. If you are a person of influence occupying a respectable position, I urge you to pause and ask yourself how you would feel, if a story you consider secret were to be leaked to those you lead or who look up to you as a role model.
It is a fact of life that our common destination whether we have been good or bad is ‘six feet under’. It is where we go after being separated at that location that really matters. Hebrews 9:27 (KJV) aptly contends that “it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:” I find myself asking the question about what that day would be like; the day when not just a section of my life but my whole life would be leaked. I believe this is a valid question that everyone should be asking themselves. I personally shudder to imagine what that day would be like.
I am inclined to believe that some of the people implicated by the leaks may want to contest in a bellicose manner, the veracity of the information currently disseminated to the public. With the Ultimate Leak, this would be a no contest. When faced with questioning from the Best Judge, I doubt whether even “Mr Loopholes”, famed for defending celebrities from speeding convictions, would ever stand a prayer.
Mark 4:22 (AMP) records that “[Things are hidden temporarily only as a means to revelation] for there is nothing hidden except to be revealed, nor is anything [temporarily] kept secret except in order that it may be made known”. Matthew 12:36 further adds that “But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the Day of Judgment for every empty word they have spoken”.
The difference between the Ultimate Leak and the WikiLeaks is that, we have been forewarned with the former. It’s a popular saying that to be forewarned is to be forearmed. We know there is a Judgement Day ahead. Whether or not we believe it would not change that. It is just like watching the weather forecast and being told that it would rain. You may want to argue with the weather forecaster. Problem is that, it is a futile argument to engage in. You may want to argue all you can but when it starts raining, you would do very little to stop the rain.
Some may even go further and argue that weather forecasters are akin to getting wrong forecasts. I do not dismiss that argument. Numerous examples may be given as corroboration for that line of thought. There must have been very good arguments in the days of Noah which discounted his claim for the Great Flood. The salient point though remains that it did not stop the flood. This reminds me of a scene in the old movie Poseidon. It is your choice whether or not to believe the Judgement Day. I unequivocally do not intend to proselytise you in this article but to raise an awareness of a serious issue.
We are here on a journey and as stewards we would be required to give an account of our life on earth. Sooner rather than later, our transient nature would give way. Mortality would take on immortality, and then our works would be tested by fire. There are no other leaks after this final leak. We must surely prepare for the Ultimate Leak as it could be any day soon.
Credit: Dr. Frank Robert Silverson
Email: frsilverson@yahoo.com
