Anonymous

Baron Acton said in 1887 that "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men."

Whilst democracy was seen as the solution to this problem by creating a system of government in which the people had a direct influence of over those who lead.  The unfortunate truth is that modern democratic politics is subject to many of the same issues imposed by autocracies.  

Firstly the system by which any given person is able to rise to a position in which the public is able to vote that person into office has become so toxic and Machiavellian that only those who are able to thrive in that type of environment are able to achieve position of power.  Furthermore as political office is changeable, the corporations and interest groups who are able to exert power for longer periods of time behind the scenes are often able to unduly influence who can rise through the ranks and also how they govern. 

History is littered with revolutionaries who have sought to overthrown these types of unjust governments and institutions.  Generally consisting of brave men and women who are willing to stand up in the face of overwhelming odds.  The long list of revolutionaries includes such names as Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Aung San Suu Kyi, and now Anonymous.

Anonymous is a leaderless community of 'hacktivists' committed to mass awareness and targeting corruption. Characterised by the stylised Guy Fawkes mask Anonymous have been growing in number and effectiveness since 2003.

 In 2007 the arrest of Chris Forcand a sexual predator using the internet to find victims, was a direct result of the members of Anonymous who had been gathering evidence against him which was given to the police. 

Anonymous became well known after declaring war on the church of scientology in 2008 for attempting to censor this video of tom cruise behaving, well, crazy

Over 7000 people protested in 93 countries world-wide.  In March 2008 the church of scientology (known for using underhanded tactics) attacked the epilepsy foundation website, trying to blame anonymous for the attack, which triggered a new wave of worldwide protests involving 8000 supporters. 

Since then Anonymous has targeted major global corporations, numerous governments and factions as well as focussing on gross injustices. Whilst still in their infancy this revolutionary group has managed to affect real change in highlighting serious issues through its involvement in the occupy protests and even bringing guilty parties to justice as evidenced by the recent Steubenville rape trial. 

Many current political systems and indeed corporations have been able to exist outside the scrutiny and checks and balances required for a fair playing field.   Anonymous are attempting to correct that imbalance and have so far proven highly effective.

In a world where politicians and corporate spin doctors have been able to confuse and misdirect the public for too long, Anonymous fills me with hope that there are pockets of our global community not stunted by apathy, but prepared to stand up for what they believe in. 

Whilst writing this blog entry Anonymous has targeted the North Korean government after the very real threat of nuclear war has been put on the table by its leader Kim Jong-Un.

Viva la revolucion