Moyers on Secrecy in Gov't

Since I've been trying to help keep the MB politics free. . .

Bill Moyers recently gave a speech at the Society of Professional Journalists meeting in New York City. I read the whole speech and I am compelled to write about it because it seemed to touch on a lot of issues that seem important to me these days.

I realize that the article is long - I encourage people to print it out if it's easier to read than on the screen.

Moyers really crystalized some of the things that scare me about this administration and issues that I sincerely wish I could talk about with people who are going to vote for Bush without getting in a pissing match. It is not a partisan thing for me, it is borne of genuine concern for the type of leadership Bush offers us and the direction which our country is headed. I appreciate that others might disagree, but I would encourage them to seriously examine their beliefs and make sure that they will not regret supporting Bush. Everyone makes mistakes - it's better to admit them sooner than later. I truly believe that Bush will go down in history as one of the most dangerous, disingenuous presidents to run the United States.

Perhaps the most important point of Moyers' article is secrecy. Americans today seem more willing than ever to sign away their rights to knowledge of governmental procedures and decision making in the name of Homeland Security. This is so dangerous on so many levels and I find it really disturbing that our open society is being closed piece by piece. It allows the government to say one thing and do another; if no one ever finds out what is really going on there will be no way to challenge it. Again, I'd like to state that this is not partisan; I believe either party will inevitably abuse this priveledge. However, Bush and his administration have put these policies in place and are making the government more secretive by the day. I truly believe that it is imperative that we stop this before there's no chance of undoing what's already been done.

A lot of this is being done in the name of: guess what, the T word, Terrorism. Related is an article Moyers refers to in his speech, The Neglected Home Front, by Stephen Flynn in the new issue of Foreign Affairs.

If you're going to read just one part of that article, I highly reccomend searching for the sentence "But never has there been an administration like the one in power today" and reading on from there.

And for those conservatives that abhor large government and excessive spending, Moyers states "Pete Weitzel estimates that the price tag for secrecy today is more than $5 billion annual (I have seen other estimates up to $6.5 billion a year.)"

Moyers really summed it up for me when he says:

This “zeal for secrecy” I am talking about – and I have barely touched the surface – adds up to a victory for the terrorists. When they plunged those hijacked planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon three years ago this morning, they were out to hijack our Gross National Psychology. If they could fill our psyche with fear -- as if the imagination of each one of us were Afghanistan and they were the Taliban -- they could deprive us of the trust and confidence required for a free society to work. They could prevent us from ever again believing in a safe, decent, or just world and from working to bring it about. By pillaging and plundering our peace of mind they could panic us into abandoning those unique freedoms – freedom of speech, freedom of the press – that constitute the ability of democracy to self-correct and turn the ship of state before it hits the iceberg.

I believe it is important to view any government, whether you voted for them or not, with a critical eye; it is our duty as citizens to keep our government in check. We the people are the other part of our checks and balances system, and in order to excercise our duty we must be informed. The current government is eroding our ability to perform this duty and in doing so is making a grab for power in the executive branch that serves only their own ends.

peace,
jimi