Against truth plugging, at night in Perth
I will say it – I dont understand how any person not mentioned in the Wikileaks diplomatic cables can not be outraged at what is happening at the moment. Yes, certain things have to be kept secret by the Governments around the world, but how many? What actions, policies and relationships of the people we have elected to represent us, should we be unaware of?
Not many, I say. Hide the nuclear weapon codes. Hide the names of people that provide us with insider information from outlaw groups. Hide the location of whatever necessary military equipment we have to keep.
A lot of people object vocally to the cables, because they “are an attack on national security”. Bull****. Only a person that has not read them and kept abreast of the information that they reveal can stomp on that particular all-familiar soapbox.
I dont know anything about this politician, but I have to fully agree with this particular speech:
“Is there not a huge difference between releasing secret information to help the enemy in the time of a declared war — which is treason — and the releasing of information to expose our government lies that promote secret wars, death, and corruption?
“Was it not once considered patriotic to stand up to our Government when its wrong?”
Clearly not anymore. These days Governments seem to be seen by many as an infallible institution, which somehow does the best things and always in our interest. Americans have taken this to a new level, brandishing anyone who dares criticize it as traitor and follow with chest banging, flags on lawns and “if you dont like it, go somewhere else”. This is very strange especially put next to the apathy of most people in regards to politics, usually born out of distrust in the people who maneuver them.
And you know what, that is fine. Those that feel pointing out things that could be improved is somehow detrimental to the running of a country, should refrain from it. They should, instead, organize their I Love My Government With All My Heart events and collect money for gifts to our elected officials, especially around now, Christmas is a great time to show ones appreciation for those that deserve it.
I, on the other hand, trust blindly just about nobody, let alone strangers in an office somewhere. And many like me prefer to know if their representatives are doing illegal things around the world; supporting such acts; working with countries that are the main money source for terrorist organizations, just because its monetarily convenient (Saudi Arabia); working with big corporations to help them blackmail officials to avoid their legal obligations towards children whom they used for research (Pfeiser) ; or Shell’s undue infiltration into the Nigerian government; providing insider party information to foreign governments, while the people that they should be representing have no clue what is happening; the Vatican pressuring Irish officials to be granted immunity from investigations around child abuse claims and refusing to answer any of the queries about it; the US spying illegally on UN officials all the way to the top; or when when we are clearly lied to about fundamental policies; (good short account can be found in the Guardian, which has a very good coverage of the developments)
Why do I want to know if my Government is doing illegal and immoral things around the world or on home land? The answer is very simple – it is doing it on my behalf and with my money. You and I are funding these activities, which are performed by those we have elected. They represent us.
You bet I care! You bet I want to know!
And yet, I feel so helpless these days. I want to do something, to shout from somewhere that I am against any plugging of any truth that involves those that act on my behalf. Because it seems the only people that dont know whats going on are you and me. We are entertained by cheap Chinese trinkets and kept busy working for our mortgages while all the important things are happening and most of the money are spent.
I found out about a protest in the city and joined in. Not because this will make a difference, I am not that naive – 25,000 students couldnt be heard in UK – let alone measly 100 people in a quiet gathering. I went because I couldnt just sit and watch while powerful Governments try to pretend that the biggest problem here is the truth, not what they are doing behind our backs.
I signed whatever I could sign, sent some money at appropriate places and…here ends my ability to do anything.
I left the gathering when the local communist party leader took the stage. I am sure they have an idolized version of it, but as someone that has lived through a real communist regime, could not in clear conscience stand and listen to.
The city is beautiful at night, especially in summer, especially during the Christmas period.
Its unfortunate that a lot of the good things in life, those worth fighting for and aiming for, have become mostly tools in the hands of selling professionals; weapons against our resistance to spend, wallet lubricating slogans.
Those things are not bought or achieved in a store.
They happen by the way we treat each other; those that are close, those that are far; by us directly or by those that we elect to act on our behalf.
This rally supporting Wikileaks is naive. Many people are in danger because of confidential information that has been leaked. I liken it to if someone got a hold of your social security number or credit information and posted it online for the entire world to see. It’s freedom of speech, isn’t it? But it puts you at risk for identity theft. Certain things need to remain private. Governments have a right to privacy.
Olive, I dont think that those that are supposed to represent me should have a right of actions without me knowing, with very few exceptions. China may be secretive, its clearly a dictatorship; those that call themselves democratic nations cannot.
I would be interested to know whose lives are endangered by these cables, but most importantly, are they even close to the number of people who have been killed because our governments lied to us and sent us to wars in the middle east under false pretenses, for example. Which is more dangerous in the end?
It would be good for countries to keep as few secrets as possible. Unfortunately there is a need for secrecy when dealing with hostile regimes. It’s just a part of the world we live in. To deny the need for some secrecy is wishful thinking.
With regards to your comment regarding the war in Iraq, I think it’s more complex than a matter of government conspiracy theories. From what I understand, Saddam Hussein tricked everyone (including people in his own regime) in believing that he had nuclear capabilities. I don’t buy into blatant theories that “the government lied to us.” Issues are typically more complex. But I do recognize that there is rhetoric involved. A “war for oil” is not going to bring the people to the streets.
As for who exactly is in danger, I don’t know.
In the case of the Middle East, I meant that they didnt give the people the whole story (before or after), nor did they go against the ‘undoubtedly’ biggest threat, as far as terrorism is concerned.
100% open Government is not possible, I agree. But none of the big things that have been revealed should have been kept from us. And in general, where there is no accountability and a system of checks and balances – only bad things can come out of it, as has been clearly shown in the leaked cables.
http://www.ronpaul.com/2010-12-15/u-s-governments-lies-killed-thousands-of-people-wikileakss-truth-killed-nobody/
The video in this link is very relevant to the discussion and I couldn’t agree more with Ron Paul. I don’t buy it that Sadam tricked the US government about the nukes, if that was the case and the CIA was so easy to fool they would have been in Iran by now too. It’s all about oil, money and power and done with complete disregard for people’s lives on both sides…
Vanya, thanks for the link. I am sure he has better things to say, as shown on the speech I enclosed, but that was a terrible interview – your son will share your condo, how will that work?
Things are fishy, there can be no question about that. The worst thing is that we will never know all the truth. How are we supposed to vote then…
The condo and presidency bits of the interview were definitely cringe worthy… The bit I thought was relevant is where he said that government secrets have resulted in a needless loss of lives.
As for knowing who to vote for, in the end I’m not sure it actually matters… For a while now I’ve felt like we’re not living in what a democracy is supposed to be. The idea that our votes give us power over what happens in our government is so illusory and something to keep us just content enough in thinking that our say actually means something. I still vote in elections but honestly I’ve lost faith in the political system as a whole. Maybe I’m just a disillusioned cynic but I doubt anyone in politics is there to truly serve the people or to make meaningful changes. It’s all a fight for power, control and money with a good amount of ego-tripping on the side.
Oh, I did get the important part of the video and I obviously share the opinion.
And unfortunately, I have to agree with you on the voting part, as well.