On 1/6/16, Sean Lynch <seanl@literati.org> wrote:
... I've found myself self-censoring quite a lot more since my kids were born.
this topic has been on my mind recently, "You know, It would be a lot easier you just didn't do X" "This wouldn't happen if you quit annoying Y" "If you accept, Z will pay nicely and protect you." where X is FOIA requests, security research, PET development, etc., Y is some powerful entity like FBI, NSA, Verizon, Intel, etc., and Z is some convenient but forever bound by position requiring a clearance and suspension of moral qualms. when you've got the world to loose (nothing more encompassing than your own family!) preservation is near irresistible. simple fear of harm might be compelling enough for the majority to cower compliant, even. --- when i was young, these questions of "do i do right? or do i stay safe?" were abstract and applicable only to foreign backwaters or past history. a modern, free liberal democracy need never exercise such restraint - we have Blind Justice which always finds in favor of the righteous! over some years i lost this innocent faith in perfect justice, saw abuses of power against the less fortunate or less familiar, accrued things dear to me like friends and new family, and became comfortable in a lifestyle with all needs met. . . . now USA in a state of perpetual war, executive power at record levels, surveillance staggering in breadth and invasiveness, censorship and suppression of speech creeping ever further into the centralized systems dominating over our way of life, it's not good... and yet we're not rounding up foreign-born citizens and their families for incarceration at detention camps (like Japanese during the war). not to mention that much of the rest of the world would be killed or imprisoned leading my kind of life in another jurisdiction! when people are being killed for exposing corruption or injustice, it seems ridiculous to complain about annoyances resulting from optional activities i have chosen to undertake willingly - not out of dire need or coercion. with all my needs still met. --- all of which made me wonder, what did the every day German or Italian citizen see before fascism ravaged sanity? what did they see that felt disturbing, but not overtly threating and could be ignored? what did they see which told them all legitimacy was lost and only resistance remained? the #YallQueda rebellion staged their last stand in my state, with land use abuse the straw upon their broken backs. perhaps loss of livelihood a better Rubicon? --- then another "If you quit doing that, it would all be much easier..." was said, and i wondered if this was the key sign of trouble i was fearing to see. when lawful activities performed for the good of the public draw unjustified scrutiny and disruption from the state, has the state itself become corrupt? how far must this corruption spread before it cannot be stopped without destruction of the state, no matter the size and vehemency of public protest? can the tools of technology and manufactured consent provide the state ability to become completely corrupted without detection, nor resistance from the public? --- i don't know the answers, and i am curious to hear opinions. i still live a rich life with needs met and i don't think we're on the brink of a fascist nightmare future. maybe hell on earth is closer than i think... thoughts? best regards, NOTE: i am using the terms fascist and fascism explicitly, not capriciously. ''' Fascism is a form of radical authoritarian nationalism that came to prominence in early 20th-century Europe... Fascists saw World War I as a revolution that brought massive changes in the nature of war, society, the state, and technology. The advent of total war and total mass mobilization of society had broken down the distinction between civilian and combatant. A "military citizenship" arose in which all citizens were involved with the military in some manner during the war. The war had resulted in the rise of a powerful state capable of mobilizing millions of people to serve on the front lines and providing economic production and logistics to support them, as well as having unprecedented authority to intervene in the lives of citizens. Fascists view World War I as having made liberal democracy obsolete, and regard total mobilization of society under a totalitarian one-party state as necessary to prepare a nation for armed conflict and to respond effectively to economic difficulties. Such a state is led by a strong leader — such as a dictator and a martial government composed of the members of the governing fascist party — to forge national unity and maintain a stable and orderly society. Fascism rejects assertions that violence is automatically negative in nature, and views political violence, war, and imperialism as means that can achieve national rejuvenation. ''' - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascism