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Originally Posted by Stressless  Hi Capstan,
Do you really think that cynicism will keep politicians in line? The ground realities politician face are actually much different from what they lead the people to believe. |
Perhaps not cynicism, but skepticism. At any rate, a realistic view of our leaders is better than the nievety of the 1950s. Thomas Jefferson said, "It is the nature of government to serve itself." We should keep this in mind, when our leaders speak of all they're going to do for us. I don't think Jefferson was being cynical, but was telling the truth. The recent creation of the Dept. of Homeland Security is an example of government serving itself, by making itself larger. Vietnam wasn't about "stopping the spread of world Communism," or liberating a people; it was about military control of the Asian hemisphere. The same can be said about what's going on in the Middle East today. What's incredible is, the American people let them do it to us
twice. Since World War Two, our foreign policy- at least these forays into military expansionism- has had no benefit for ourselves, but only for those in authority. As long as we believe the lies we're being told, the government will use us- and our tax dollars- to make itself bigger. For the government, the "homeland" does not extend beyond the halls of Congress or the White House. This isn't a cynical point of view, but a realistic one. If the American people desire perpetual warfare, the government will certainly provide it. It benefits them, but not us.
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I also think that with the advent of new technology it is becoming harder, though not impossible, to keep things hidden for a long period of time. Let's not forget that Watergate was a result of journalistic investigations prior to the new mega technologies in place.
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I think the new technologies contributed to the "shock" of the 1960s, but I also think there are more new technologies to come, perhaps very soon. Part of the effect of these technologies is to broaden the gap between government and the people. The cultural changes that have come about are a response by the people to get the government to re-focus its attention back where it belongs: on the people.