by Elizabeth Vos, Disobedient Media:

Although the phrase Zeitgeist refers to the spirit of an age, it seems appropriate to use it to describe the shift in consciousness that can take place in a moment.

As the sixth anniversary of Julian Assange’s asylum in the Ecuadorian Embassy approaches, public awareness is rapidly shifting in Assange’s favor. The ongoing isolation of Julian Assange by the Ecuadorian government appears to have bolstered sympathy for the Wikileaks Editor-In-Chief worldwide, instead of relegating him to the detritus of a fast-moving news cycle.

1,200 candles in front of the Australian Parliament call to free @JulianAssange #FreeJulian pic.twitter.com/fEE3WSCjMc

— #FreeAssange! (tweets by campaign)⌛ (@JulianAssange) 21 May 2018

Disobedient Media recently reported on last week’s Unity4J online vigil, which ran over 24 hours in an effort to raise awareness and to bring an end to Julian Assange’s isolation. As this writer noted during the vigil itself, attending and viewing such events are far from the only way to make a tangible difference in support of Assange.

Readers and viewers must understand that efforts to help do not end at the period finishing the last sentence of this article, or the last guest at a vigil. Rather, readers and viewers must take up their own actions, because it is truly up to the public to fight for Assange, when a unified but unelected power structure is set on destroying him and the work of the organization he leads.

As Ciaron O’Reilly puts it: “He is fighting for us in there, so we have to fight for him out here.” And that fight does not necessarily have to take the form of physical or online vigils, writing, or speaking. There are a multitude of equally powerful actions that supporters can take to act for Julian Assange’s very real benefit.

Despite recent escalations in public demonstrations of support for Julian Assange and the revelation that many of WikiLeaks’ Twitter detractors may largely come from Twitter botnets, the question for some remains: “How can I help Julian Assange and Wikileaks at this critical time?”

The answer to this question is manifold, and includes writing letters and postcards to Julian Assange (more on that later), signing online petitions, donating to Wikileaks, contributing to Julian Assange’s legal defense fund, and buying from the Wikileaks shop. Absolutely anyone and everyone can also sign the open letter addressed to US President Donald Trump, calling on him to “… Immediately close the Grand Jury investigation into WikiLeaks and drop any charges against Julian Assange and other WikiLeaks staff members which the Department of Justice is planning.”

The following additional thoughts on this subject are not intended to represent the view of WikiLeaks or anyone besides myself and are not meant to be viewed as comprehensive or final!

In my opinion, the biggest stumbling block on this front isn’t a lack of tools, abilities, or talents: It is a lack of imagination or self-confidence in terms of recognizing our innate gifts and re-engineering them for the Reconnect Julian effort.

Due to the extremely fast-paced news cycle, it is easy to lose sight of the incredible amount of support that has been shown for WikiLeaks and Julian Assange by people across the political and ideological spectrum. This post intends to encourage people to take their own action, in part by reminding the public of just how many individuals have already spoken up. If you have an audience – whether readers, viewers or listeners – make content focusing on efforts to Reconnect Julian. A few examples of this type of effort (far from comprehensive!) are listed below.

Again: The following sentiments are my own and should not be confused with an official guide endorsed by anyone except myself.

Shortly after the Unity4J vigil, actress-turned-activist and close friend of Assange Pamela Anderson spoke with Tucker Carlson on Fox News about Julian Assange, calling him “a great testament to the human spirit.” Meanwhile, renowned Pulitzer-prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges expressed strong support for Assange via Twitter, writing:

.@JulianAssange's life is in danger. In violation of his fundamental
human rights, the Ecuadoran government has transformed his asylum in its
London embassy into a form of brutal incarceration.

— Chris Hedges (@ChrisLynnHedges) 7 June 2018

Julian Assange’s life is in danger. In violation of his fundamental human rights, the Ecuadoran government has transformed his asylum in its London embassy into a form of brutal incarceration… “

“It has cut off his access to the Internet, thus depriving Julian of the ability to communicate with his supporters or even follow world events. The transparent aim of this inhuman treatment is to force Julian to leave the Ecuadoran embassy, so that he can be seized by London police, thrown into a British jail, and endure deportation proceedings which will be rigged to ensure a predetermined outcome.”

“Julian Assange will be turned over to the United States and delivered into the hands of Donald Trump, Mike Pompeo, James Bolton and the CIA’s expert torturer-in-chief Gina Haspel. Julian Assange is a courageous journalist. He has been victimized because he exposed the real crimes of imperialism. The conspiracy against Julian must be stopped. His defense is the cutting edge of the fight against gov. suppression of the most fundamental democratic rights.”

Read More @ DisobedientMedia.com