Actor Wil Wheaton, says Salon.com, “will forever be associated with the television role he played more than a decade ago: Wesley Crusher, the whiny, wimpy teenage ensign on "Star Trek: The Next Generation."

Wheaton has played numerous other roles in film and television, too. And he’s also a libertarian -- one who is actively working to promote and protect online civil liberties.

In a recent interview with Salon.com, the 29-year-old Wheaton spoke of his concerns -- and described himself as a libertarian and “computer geek.” Some excerpts:

“I am particularly concerned right now with the political climate in this country. Everyone, or at least the vast majority of people, seems to be all too willing to give away the basic rights that separate America from so many other countries.

“It really bothers me, for example, that the Justice Department wants to do warrantless searches, and it really bothers me that they want to be able to go to my ISP and monitor my e-mail and monitor my traffic in real time across a cable modem. Stuff like that really makes me angry.

“These debates have been going on for a long time, but it seems like a lot of the things that are being crammed down our throats with the USA-Patriot Act are things that the FBI and the Justice Department and a lot of the corporate sponsors of government have wanted for the last year or so. And they're using everyone's fear of terrorism to ram laws down our throats that are so clearly unconstitutional, and so blatantly violate due process. They would never pass in any other political climate…”

When Salon asked “What's it like being a geek in Hollywood?” Wheaton replied:

“I'm a geek and a libertarian, so I'm really on my own. There aren't very many people who are aware of these kinds of issues."

Thanks to Wheaton’s vocal public advocacy, more people in Hollywood -- and elsewhere -- will be. Incidentally, at his personal Web site Wheaton says that, though he voted for Nader in 2000, “if I had my druthers…I'd have the Libertarians as a third party…” and his site provides a link to the Libertarian Party.

(Source: Salon com. Thanks to Ron Crickenberger.)

Originally appeared in the Liberator Online January 8, 2002

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