I do believe that over the long haul the people are capable of making good decisions, as long as we have open access to information.

That’s pretty much exactly the problem and the point of my post. The necessity for governments to keep secrets precludes the possibility that the people will have all the necessary information to make good decisions. As a result, they will, as they are now, always be manipulated by those who have, and selectively use, information to persuade them.

What is the alternative? Do we make every piece of information available to those with Q clearances free to all viewers on the Internet?

If we have to have secrets for the purpose of protecting national security, which I don’t think anyone doubts, then those with access to it will always be in a position to decide which parts are known and which are not and they will use that to shape the opinions of those who do not.

You have a better system?

Seriously, while democracy is messy and imperfect, I do believe that over the long haul the people are capable of making good decisions, as long as we have open access to information.

And when it comes to spotting problems and offering solutions, I’ll take the power of networks over the power of closed systems. Have you read “Groupthink”? (Doesn’t everyone who takes a poli-sci class have to read it?) It strikes me that Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld were victims of major groupthink. Now we’re stuck with their mess.

Micah