Comments | korakthesavage: Another one of my angry opinions...

korakthesavage

Another one of my angry opinions...

Sep 06, 2011 18:09

Just so you all know....

My opinion on Julian Assange and WikiLeaks is as follows:

A truly democratic government has NO need to keep secrets from its people.

No need whatsoever! No excuses! NONE! I don't want to hear about "national security" (what a tired sad cliche!) or some other pre-programmed response designed purely to hide government corruption ( Read more... )

rant

Comments 9

arocoun2 September 7 2011, 18:17:12 UTC

I can understand secrecy regarding on-going missions. A leak about an on-going mission could get good people killed, and stop a country from protecting its people.

But there is no reason a republic should ever hide anything else from its people. The government can't represent our interests if they we're uninformed.

The question, of course, is how do we know how much the government hides, and how much info it shares? You can't be certain, sadly enough.

korakthesavage September 7 2011, 20:55:57 UTC

Nothing in life is ever certain, my friend! But I could deal with a government a bit more Jeffersonian, and less fuckin' draconian, if you know what I mean!

I agree about the ongoing mission idea, though I have to say I applaud Private Manning for releasing the truth about his own mission.

From a friend on facebook, who said it as well as anyone:
"What that soldier [Manning] provided to him [Assange] was prompted by his horror at what he saw on tapes where US soldiers in a helicopter were gunning down people and laughing about it, and then gunning down the people who tried to come to the victims' aid. He was particularly horrified because this tape was seen by superiors of the said soldiers, who did absolutely nothing about it and apparently approved the action."

Some things are simply unconscionable, regardless of the circumstances.

korakthesavage September 7 2011, 20:57:25 UTC

BTW, this topic on my facebook has generated more controversy than my LJ has ever seen!

wontolla September 8 2011, 15:26:15 UTC

Since I worked for years with a high security clearance, I cannot really agree with your premise.

One of my favorite movie lines is this...

Edwards: Why the big secret? People are smart. They can handle it.
Kay: A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it.

Seriously though, you are right, there is no reason for some of the stuff that is classified to be classified, but the issue is not black and white. There are very definite reasons for some things not to be in the public domain, because the public is not a uniformly benign body, and automatically includes the whole world. In a more evolved, enlightened time, what you say would be true, but now is not that time.

I'm about as far left from Fox news as you can get, I disagree with almost everything that comes on that channel, but your assessment of 90% of classified material as cover up is way off the mark.

korakthesavage September 8 2011, 21:58:18 UTC

I'm glad to hear your opinion, Wontolla ( ... )

wontolla September 9 2011, 01:16:27 UTC

The movie line is a statement about how while singly people are capable of being rational, in large groups they tend to succumb to mob mentality, which is not rational. I trust most individuals to make rational decisions. In a large group, I keep my eye on the exits, because people become sheeple in an eyeblink. I am not egalitarian, because people are NOT all equal. There are great swaths of people who are ignorant, prejudiced idiots, with the intellectual curiosity of a sand flea, and all the judgement of a poorly socialized two year old ( ... )

korakthesavage September 9 2011, 19:43:13 UTC

Egalitarian means that you accept all humans as THEORETICALLY equal, ie. as in the Constitution's "we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men (now less sexist-ly defined as all humans) are created equal." It does not mean that you have to believe they all have, miraculously, equal skills and brainpower.

And frankly, if you don't believe in this basic principle, it's hard for me to think of you as truly American, no matter what you've done for us while in the military. Another hard truth from my Mercury in Sagittarius mouth. I had this same conversation with Wolf VZ at the last Howl- he agrees with you, btw.

You're right about the large swaths- many people are ignorant and worse, they want to be that way! This is one of the things about the mainstream I simply don't get, like how two barbie dolls like Sara and Michelle manage to climb to such heights without a single shred of cerebral tissue. Palin continually reminds me of a female version of Dan Quail (the VP who spells potato "potatoe"). Can you see him on Smarter than ( ... )

wontolla September 9 2011, 21:30:34 UTC

Hard to think of me as American? Really now ( ... )

korakthesavage September 20 2011, 22:57:56 UTC

Don't feel singled out! I have told many people the same thing, receiving very similar replies. I know you're not a conservative by a long shot! I want to say that I felt a bit ashamed making that comment about you. I did not want to jeopardize our friendship with my tactlessness ( ... )