It depends on how you view it. Remember, when things are communicated confidentially, it can be an invitation to be more truthful - or to exaggerate, misrepresent, lie. Transparency - what a horrible buzzword! - has a very imporatnt place in democratic governance.
Undoubtedly, Frank. But I would emphasise 'civilized': rather too often the behaviour of those who govern is all but.
In the end, it will always be about finding the right balance, which is why, in this new era, that it's crucial to conduct this discussion - in a civilised manner, not by calling for someone's assassination.
Machiavelli said that the law among nations is the law of the jungle. The grim reality is that the sphere of governance is often not a locus for good behavior.Terminating Assange with prejudice would certainly give pause to anyone thinking of doing what he did. I am not advocating this, but I can see how, in the murky real-world context of governance, the notion could be entertained. As Sam Rayburn said, politics ain't bean ball. There's a novel by Leonardo Sciascia called A Man's Blessing. It's a wonderful take on the amateur detective trope, in which said amateur ends up exactly as one would be likely to in the real world. Assange chose to mess around in some very messy business. As even the dim-witted Dogberry knew, "they that touch pitch will be defiled."
Here's Moore's rebuttal:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.michaelmoore.com/words/mike-friends-blog/viva-wikileaks
Well then, I guess we don't have to thank Julian after all.
ReplyDeleteIt depends on how you view it. Remember, when things are communicated confidentially, it can be an invitation to be more truthful - or to exaggerate, misrepresent, lie. Transparency - what a horrible buzzword! - has a very imporatnt place in democratic governance.
ReplyDeleteAnd confidentiality has a very importance place in civilized discourse.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteUndoubtedly, Frank. But I would emphasise 'civilized': rather too often the behaviour of those who govern is all but.
ReplyDeleteIn the end, it will always be about finding the right balance, which is why, in this new era, that it's crucial to conduct this discussion - in a civilised manner, not by calling for someone's assassination.
(Apologies for original post with typo)
Machiavelli said that the law among nations is the law of the jungle. The grim reality is that the sphere of governance is often not a locus for good behavior.Terminating Assange with prejudice would certainly give pause to anyone thinking of doing what he did. I am not advocating this, but I can see how, in the murky real-world context of governance, the notion could be entertained. As Sam Rayburn said, politics ain't bean ball. There's a novel by Leonardo Sciascia called A Man's Blessing. It's a wonderful take on the amateur detective trope, in which said amateur ends up exactly as one would be likely to in the real world. Assange chose to mess around in some very messy business. As even the dim-witted Dogberry knew, "they that touch pitch will be defiled."
ReplyDelete