(From a letter to Andrew Sullivan, June 7th 2013)
Think of how our current state of affairs happened. The Protect America Act contained details that went under the radar of all but the most vigilant non-government actors that allowed the essentially unchecked surveillance powers that the Executive Branch now has - and, lo and behold, has chosen to exercise - through its agencies.
We have a news media that fears losing access and is thus afraid to tell things as they are - if that chickenshit NY Times editor wouldn't let the word "torture" be used in print do you think he would allow a story to be run detailing the possible implications of the language of the bill? No - that would require a civic-minded spirit that trumps the desire not to ruffle the feathers of important people.
But you can't debate things that happen secretly! Classification of everything has exploded, prosecution of leakers . . . this administration has consolidated and expanded its power by severely restricting executive transparency. (It might be difficult to remember at times, but everything Federal that is not legislative or judicial is executive.) We're not capable of debating what we don't know to be actually happening. And with a media (fine, a "mainstream media") that is less and less willing to call a fact a fact combined with an Executive branch that is less and less willing to let anyone beyond it know anything of its operations: no, it doesn't augur a good future!
Part of my prescription for America's recovery is to quit being so goddamned "selfish and scared." Not easy to enact or argue for in a cogent and concentrated way. But the other part, the part that could involve you, is simply demanding that Obama keep the following campaign promise: more transparency. If transparency means endangering people, then maybe those people should be taken out of danger and their associated programs should be reevaluated. But I think increasing the lack of transparency has become just another way for institutions to protect their turf an increase their power - and they will all do that, it seems, if allowed to.
