Cloak of Secrecy

Cloak of Secrecy : I wonder if there could be a blanket over our government where many things that happen are hidden from the public. We are suppose to be an open society. Nevertheless, we must admit that there are many things kept from the public in the name of, for example, national security. I submit that we are 'shielded' more often in the name of national embarrassment.

One instance might be if a terrorist were to get beyond all our efforts to stop them and do something that is damaging to our country. Our officials cannot tell the whole story without tipping off to the terrorist that we have a weakness. The public might be kept in the dark to avoid loosing our sense of security. There are many reasons why it would be in the government's interest for the American people to feel secure. For one thing, people who feel safe will work harder and spend more freely. It is good for the economy for people to feel safe.

Another reason for secrets to be kept is that someone might be so entangled in national affairs that if it were revealed that they had alternative motives, negotiations with foreign leaders could be damaged.

A bank will not advertise their troubles because it would cause a run on the bank and effectively shut it down.

So, don't tell me there are no major secrets kept.

Some secrets we will never know. Our grandchildren might know but they will be so far removed from the situation (by time) that nothing will be done even if a crime was committed. I used to work with classified stuff and it is very easy to slap a "Top secret" stamp on a document but very difficult to declassify it. Even when they are declassified, they are edited.

We wonder about a lot of stuff that goes on and if the truth will be known. There are other things that we do not know about and those secrets will remain so until someone lets the cat out.

We are an open society. Government knows everything about us. In fact, with the Internet, just about anyone can find out everything about us. I do not believe, however, that we have an open government. There are many things that are put under the umbrella of national security when they should be made public so the people can make their own decisions.

The best we can do is try to figure out the rumors that keep popping up. One thing I have noticed is that a rumor without truth will usually die, one with a few facts will linger until those facts are explained.

Thomas Jefferson said it best but I will not repeat it here. I have enough trouble. :)