Governments depend on secrecy. Without secrecy three things would happen:
- Politicians would be painted for what they are: incompetent and greedy.
- Governments would topple
- Wars would not be possible
Now, since we are all for civilization, we cannot possibly allow for this to happen. Our current society must be protected against the forces that are sworn to destroy it…. Or so we are told.
The truth, of course, is entirely different. As usual.
An article posted by the Brazilian newspaper Folha de S.Paolo reads: the Deputy Prime Minister of Great Britain called for checks to see if the Brazilian citizen David Miranda was lawfully arrested and blah.. blah.. blah.. (insert typical political nonsense here).
Greenwald was the reporter who led the expose of the documents leaked by ex-NSA’s employee Edward Snowden. Miranda was his boyfriend.
It would seem that Miranada was carrying juicy documents from Berlin. These documents were “very sensitive” and could put lives at risk (or at least that’s what the police said).
Miranda was arrested, had his computer, phone, hard drive and memory cards impounded (translation: officially stolen) and released.
We have no clue what was in those documents, but one thing we know for certain: it would embarrass (translation: unmask) governments. The rest is just circus.
We particularly like the wording “could put lives at risk”. This means that maybe, perhaps, if the gods are with us and all the planets are aligned and the wind is blowing in the right direction, somebody, at some time in the foreseeable future may possibly be hurt. Got it.
Funny how governments go to such ridiculous extremes when it comes to embarrassing information but stay solidly planted in their seats without moving a finger when tens of thousands get slaughtered in the third world. That’s politicians for you.
The main problem is, as usual, governments. Politicians (and their drone-servers: the bureaucracy) have an absolute need for secrecy. This is so because they have an absolute need to disguise what everybody already knows or suspects: governments are useless. They are nothing but a pitiful reason for job security for people that produce nothing. For people that not only produce nothing but consume much.
In order to maintain secrecy, governments freely disinform and censor. As citizens, that’s our only right.
You don’t have to believe us. Just take a look at the oldest government on earth: the Papacy. Its Secret Archives located in the Vatican Library have maintained secrecy for over 1000 years. Many critical documents (some of them the oldest) still remain unavailable for the foreseeable future.
If a government can easily maintain secrecy for 1000 years, why are you expecting transparency now? It is only a delusion.
Governments have been disinforming, censoring and lying since the beginning of written human history. Egyptian priests went so far as to maintain a special, ancient, language just for their use. In the middle ages, Latin was considered a language of the Church to which common people had no access.
Governments created and continue to create layer after layer of disinformation to a point at which it is impossible to say what is what, and what happened when. For a more recent example, take a look at the secret archives of the KGB in the Kremlin. These archives were written and over-written continuously according to the prevalent political climate. This re-writing of history is so extensive that in many instances is impossible to reconstruct anything. Similar trends happened in many communist countries such as Yugoslavia.
Do you believe what is disclosed in press conferences? Do you believe what politicians tell you?
Or are you just like us, taking every word with cynicism and doubt? We think the latter.
And what about companies, don't they lie all the time? Some do, some don't and some just hire good Public Relations specialists to "massage" the message. But again, what is the damage? What is the worst that can happen? Commercial secrets are so little damaging when compared with "National Security" that it is not even worth the comparison. If a company lies we will end up with bad products or services and eventually the market will punish them mercilessly. When a government lies, we could easily end up in war or dead.
At the end of the day, when secrecy is necessary for economic success or privacy, it makes sense. However, when secrecy is used to foster power grabs and maintain job security for useless politicians, then we have a large problem.
Your choice is clear, support continuing darkness and obscurantism or turn to the light of freedom. Your choice.
Note: please see the Glossary if you are unfamiliar with certain words.