The advancement of mankind is built upon the foundation of all those that have considered questions of importance, and have endeavored to figure them out so as to resolve them, and from this, knowledge is gained. Now then, to know or to learn something of merit, but to keep that knowledge to oneself, is often selfish, though, occasionally prudent or even necessary; whereas to take such knowledge and to provide as well as to teach it to others, benefits society at large.
So then, in a construct in which capitalism and competitiveness seem to be part and parcel of America's being, those that are knowledgeable about certain subjects and things, may be conflicted as to how best to utilize that knowledge, because quite obviously, in most cases, the more that other people have knowledge of a given subject or application, the more competition this thus creates, and the less personal benefit thus ensues. Additionally, for many people, especially those that work within corporations, there may not be much of a quandary, for that knowledge so obtained, that is accomplished within the company domain, is for better or for worse, considered to be property and possibly proprietary to that company, alone. For others, who are tinkerers, or scholars, or independent thinkers or contractors, the knowledge that they obtain is clearly theirs to do with what they should will to do, though qualified, undoubtedly, by others that have contributed to such knowledge, directly or indirectly.
To a very large extent, many people believe that the things that they have labored for and have learned, are theirs to utilize for their own benefit, especially if their perception is that knowledge isn't really hurting anybody, specifically. Though, this may be true, it is certainly selfish, and knowledge obtained but not disseminated, hurts society, in general. Further, knowledge learned, of which, it is perceived that if such became universal, that this would materially benefit society at large, even when such would come at the personal expense of the person so learning, should be provided as a matter of course to others, so that society at large, benefits. After all, a good and stable society necessitates cooperation between its members, especially in consideration that societies are created, for the expressed purpose for the betterment of communities. Further, the basis of a good and healthy community is for individuals to bond together as one, as opposed to a community of individuals, with no implicit or inherent obligations to the other members.
So then, it can be stated that the highest good of knowledge, is to disseminate such knowledge throughout the community for the benefit of that community, so as to materially improve that community's life. While the choice of what to do about any particular knowledge so learned, is in the hands of that person, so that they are ultimately at liberty to do what they will with such, it is clear that to simply take personal ownership and to thereby keep that knowledge for the specific benefit of that person, and none else, is both selfish and misguided. Indeed, a good member of society does their part to make their society better, so that, a voice that insists on being silent, when it should speak, is a voice that has not told the tale that needs to be told.