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I think we can compare the leaks of Ed Snowden with the Pentagon Papers leaks of Mike Gravel. Post 9/11 (And even before) the US government began a widespread

I think we can compare the leaks of Ed Snowden with the Pentagon Papers leaks of Mike Gravel. Post 9/11 (And even before) the US government began a widespread campaign against US citizens themselves under the guise of the "War on terror". People became so brainwashed that what we were doing was unequivocally "right" and what the other guys were doing was wrong. And it's continued to the point where the general public now thinks that we're the good guy's no matter what, without questioning authority. At the time the Pentagon Papers were leaked, it was the first time in a long time (In my opinion) that the general populous woke up and saw that we were doing some pretty horrendous things. The 3 letter agencies took this to heart, and learned from it. People haven't been taught to think critically in a long time, and that's on purpose.

ranger_danger 2y ago
Sounds a lot like demoralization: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bX3EZCVj2XA&t=4m49s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bX3EZCVj2XA&t=4m49s
simpaticoder 2y ago
The key difference between then and now is the structure of media. We do not have Walter Cronkite. We do not have the Fairness Doctrine. We do have Citizens United. This leads to professional zealous advocates dominating the information space. To blame individuals for a lack of critical thinking skills in this environment is like decriminalizing violent crime and then blaming bloodied individuals for a lack of firearm and hand combat training.
JumpCrisscross 2y ago
> it's continued to the point where the general public now thinks that we're the good guy's no matter what What? We're in a period of peak civic cynicism.
drewcoo 2y ago
> I think we can compare the leaks of Ed Snowden with the Pentagon Papers leaks of Mike Gravel. Do you mean Ellsberg? Gravel's contribution was reading the Pentagon papers into the Congressional record.

ranger_danger 2y ago

Sounds a lot like demoralization: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bX3EZCVj2XA&t=4m49s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bX3EZCVj2XA&t=4m49s

simpaticoder 2y ago

The key difference between then and now is the structure of media. We do not have Walter Cronkite. We do not have the Fairness Doctrine. We do have Citizens United. This leads to professional zealous advocates dominating the information space. To blame individuals for a lack of critical thinking skills in this environment is like decriminalizing violent crime and then blaming bloodied individuals for a lack of firearm and hand combat training.

JumpCrisscross 2y ago

> it's continued to the point where the general public now thinks that we're the good guy's no matter what What? We're in a period of peak civic cynicism.

drewcoo 2y ago

> I think we can compare the leaks of Ed Snowden with the Pentagon Papers leaks of Mike Gravel. Do you mean Ellsberg? Gravel's contribution was reading the Pentagon papers into the Congressional record.