While American political parties bicker over what action should be taken against the anarchic, warring or tyrannical nations in Africa and the Middle East, the American Wikimedia Foundation has provided those subjects of injustice the most potent aid possible: knowledge.
In what should be regarded among the most notable charitable acts of our generation, Wikimedia, parent company of Wikipedia, and French telecommunications company Orange disclosed Tuesday their intentions to offer free mobile access to the world’s largest encyclopedia in North African and Middle Eastern countries.
According to Orange’s news release, “Orange and the Wikimedia Foundation will provide more than 70 million Orange customers in Africa and the Middle East with mobile access to Wikipedia — without incurring data usage couldn’t.”
If America is to lead by example, as the exceptionalists proclaim in the numerous Republican debates, there is no better way. America is freedom — free information, access and input.
Facebook originated in the states and provided tools for protest organization during the Egyptian revolution. Twitter, also created by an American, provided the world with live feedback from the front for freedom oceans away.
This is America’s Library of Alexandria, and I hope this project, as only part of the broader movement for freedom to the facts, can be our legacy.
Clayton Crockett is a 20-year-old international studies sophomore from Lafayette. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_ccrockett.
 
—-
Contact Clayton Crockett at [email protected]