DISQUS

sunzooomspark · 1 year ago

While I'm not sure what the author means by "psychic" dilemma (?), there is clearly a legal/moral tension between our individual protections under the Bill of Rights and those who would dispense with them.

With habeus corpus in our nation of laws still 'suspended' by fiat, I'm afraid my views on government intrusion may seem a bit quaint, but as a former intelligence officer I stand firmly against increased government power to monitor our thoughts and views.

As Sigmund Freud is reported to have said when asked for the essential definition of his approach to psychotherapy, "Secrets . . . make you sick." We would do well to extend the same wisdom to our body politic and preclude those among us who hunger the most for power and control over others -- you know, the politicians -- from wielding such powerful tools. As Lincoln (and others) said "Anyone can withstand adversity . . . give a man power over others to know his true nature."

As our present executive could apparently throw himself on the ground and miss, I'm absolutely sure that I don't want my personal beliefs and sympathies to become fodder for the fever swamps of this or any future fringe regimes in their paranoid search for enemies. Do you?

And by the way, those who "attributed the failure to anticipate events [of 9/11] to a blind spot in our security systems" are wrong and were all vested within the Congressional-Military-Industrial complex that feeds on our taxes. So beware. We in intelligence clearly saw how feckless it would be to invade Iraq, but who listened? Where was THAT blind spot?

We can never be 100% secure. The failure was of our imagination and an increase in domestic spying or the further suspension of international treaty obligations and our Constitutional rights will not enhance our safety.

Finally, Ian Fleming was the first to admit that Bond was a gambler, a cock and a lout. I have read him and do not recall much in the way of moral dilemma or conscience. If you do seek such in the spy novel genre, I would suggest rather that you read John le Carr?

poeticjustice · 1 year ago

Ms. Hoffman,
Thank you, for we are getting warmer.
When Luther made the rallying cry of the Reformation: "Every man a King and a Priest," he was aiming to put the Bible into the hands of the people. As a result we have today the living monument called the King James Bible. Today however perhaps the rallying cry would have a tinge of irony: "Every man a spook and a spy." When the Bible speaks of "my father who sees in secret" it does not mean technologically; it requires a human attribute Joseph Campbell identified as having been missing in the human race for quite some time. The technological version is merely an abomination and we will continue to suffer the consequences until we come to terms with this.

poeticjustice · 1 year ago

Or, to put in another way...hard reality teaches those severely, especially to those who try to use reality to server their own ends. Won't you be my neighbor?

warrenmetzler · 1 year ago

Why is it, after millenniums of history, never once being able to accurately predict the future, humans continue to believe that if you establish a government agency which focuses on being able to predict the future, you can protect yourself? It's like the scam of life insurance, which repeated reviews have shown all the benefits are gone within five years after the death of the deceased; so much for protecting your loved ones if you die. Why not eliminate any spying, stop acting as if spying has ever been beneficial, stop employing people at work which cannot offer genuine fulfillment, and save the country billions of dollars every year? And while we at it, why not eliminate the euphemism "defense department", go back to calling it the "war department" as it was called prior to WWII, and get rid of assuming we can protect ourselves with a huge military!

j73harris · 1 year ago

Hitler's vision of a government/business priority (fascism) is alive and well thanks to the Repulican policies.