Shush! It's A Secret

You have to wonder about the childhood of George W. Bush. What drives such a penchant for secrecy with the man? This is not a post 9/11 thing. From the moment Bush and crew entered the Whitehouse they have been hiding things. Everything possible, including ignoring court orders has been used to hide what is going on in the halls of Bush's house. It seems to have gotten to the point, where he believes that all he has to do is say "No," and everyone will shrug and go away.

The most recent example is Bush refusing to allow an independent investigation of Guantanamo. The response from the Whitehouse for demands to investigate what is happening to prisoners at Guantanamo was "the Department of Defense has taken these issues head-on and addressed them." Typical. The response from the Whitehouse is frequently, "We already looked at that so no one else needs to." Excuse me? What did you find? - Really find?

I believe the first "secret thing" was that GW refused to release his father's presidential papers which were due for automatic release. Five years later, we still haven't seen them. Of course, the first big flap was Cheney's Energy Commission. They have still refused to release those as well.

The events of September 11, 2001 gave a whole new reason to not tell the citizens (or our elected representatives) anything - "national security." It seems that everything links to "national security." One has to wonder if "national security" just means covering Bush and crew's butts.

Is this some sort of strange psychosis (perhaps a contagious one)? Is it just hubris? "If there is anything I think it is important for you to know, I'll tell you?" Is it just the corporate mentality? Is it that the less people know, the fewer questions they can ask? Is it an issue of accountability (or refusing to take responsibility)? Is it that if he knows something that we don't that somehow gives him power? Who knows, maybe it is all of the above.

When bits of "secret" happenings do leak out, then lie. Maybe that is the issue - try to reduce the number of lies one has to tell by hiding everything. But Bush seems quite good at lying. Certainly those he surrounds himself are good at lying. Of course, the other strategy is just to say the lie often enough until people think it must be true - after all we have heard it a thousand times. Oh yeah, that is called propaganda when it relates to the affairs of state. Maybe that is why Bush has approved crafted info-mercials to be pitched as "news" stories.

I watched the confirmation hearings for Ms. Rice as Secretary of State. When she was questioned about her own reversals in statements, she got righteous and indignant and countered with words to the effect of "How dare you impugn my integrity." Gads! Can't imagine why anyone would impugn the veracity and integrity of this "born again" administration.

What is very frightening as the secrecy has gone on, is that it seems to be more acceptable. That has certainly been the case with the release of classified documents relating to the decision to invade Iraq (aka the Downing Street Memos). The corporate media response has largely been "Those aren't news," and "There is nothing new here." Indeed!

On the other side of this, is that while the machinations of the administration have become more and more opaque, our lives have become increasingly transparent. Data is collected and stored. The government contracts with corporations to get their data on us. The Social Security Office and Census Bureau open their files for "investigation" and data mining. DARPA and TSA and Homeland Security start one "total information awareness" program after another (i.e. TSA Illegally Collects Personal Data on Airline Passengers). They push for expanding and making permanent the highly questionable U.S.A. P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act, and say they are not abusing it, but Libraries Say Yes, Officials Do Quiz Them About Users.

There is an old logic problem that seems pertinent here. Remember this one?

Statement one: "I always tell the truth."
Statement two: "Everything I say is a lie."

There are numerous problems here. First, is that the purpose of the U.S. Constitution is to protect the citizens from the potentially abusive powers of government. That is why the constitution ensures (or did) the privacy of the individual while it requires transparency of government. The Bush administration has successfully turned that on its head, and has engaged in efforts to rewrite the Constitution to legitimate the swap - protecting the "privacy" of government while ensuring the transparency of the individual. In fact, I am pretty sure that was at least part of the "mission" that the administration had before ever going into office.

Thus far they have been tremendously successful - with the help of a corporate media that thinks it has everything to gain by being an organ of the state. In fact, if it weren't for media watch dog organizations, the alternative (peoples') press, and the blogging boom, then we would truly be none the wiser. Unfortunately, for much of the population the corporate media is the only "information" they have.

The lies and secrecy that have come to characterize George Bush and his administration have moved me to a space I have never been before. I have always granted folks slack. I assume they are honest until proven elsewise. Now, my first reaction to "information" is "Where is the lie?"

Some would call that paranoid, but I've always said that a bit of paranoia is a survival trait. So, if skepticism, a touch of paranoia, and digging will save the nation and the world, I guess I'll just keep plugging along.

Shush! I have a secret. Secrets have a way of leaking out and biting you.

Posted by rowan at June 22, 2005 7:09 AM | TrackBack | [eMail this article!] |