I just finished reading, Nation of Secrets: The Threat to Democracy and the American Way of Life by Ted Gup. I imagine it's quite possible that I've already been branded un-American if I'm reading something like that. That's not the case. I assure you. The other distinct possibility is that this book is just one more of those "Bush bashing books" that have been on the market. It's not necessarily one of those either. However, it does point out that over the last six years our habit of hiding and classifying information has increased dramatically.
Nation of Secrets does an excellent job of painting a portrait of how our society is being shrouded in secrecy. This doesn't just occur at the highest levels of government - it is becoming an everyday occurrence in many other institutions. From academia to law enforcement to everyday business there are secrets everywhere. While some of these secrets, and the process by which they are kept under tight control may be necessary, the end result of maintaining the confidentiality of the information is a disservice to the American public.
For example, consider the case of product recalls that are kept secret in closed-door legal scenarios in which the plaintiff signs a confidentiality agreement for a settlement offer over a faulty product that caused serious injury or death. Should that be a secret? better yet, consider the sexual assault on a college campus handled in a closed-door session. No information reaches the public. The assailant gets a slap on the wrist. All records are sealed. No one ever finds out that this is happening so the college doesn't have to report that sexual assaults are on the rise on their campus.
And what of the people who try to bring these secrets to the public? While there are laws to protect whistle-blowers it's a uphill battle for even the highly connected. This book further explores the emergence of new types of classifications of levels of secrecy that are quickly becoming innumerable. It's as if "classified", "top secret" and "secret" weren't enough. To make matters worse, there are even people who are assigned a task of going over publicly available and re-classifying it as top secret. Ted Gup's collection of several case studies explains how obsessive our nation has become in keeping secrets, the long-lasting effects of confidentiality and the negative effect it is having on our nation.
Nation of Secrets does an excellent job of painting a portrait of how our society is being shrouded in secrecy. This doesn't just occur at the highest levels of government - it is becoming an everyday occurrence in many other institutions. From academia to law enforcement to everyday business there are secrets everywhere. While some of these secrets, and the process by which they are kept under tight control may be necessary, the end result of maintaining the confidentiality of the information is a disservice to the American public.
For example, consider the case of product recalls that are kept secret in closed-door legal scenarios in which the plaintiff signs a confidentiality agreement for a settlement offer over a faulty product that caused serious injury or death. Should that be a secret? better yet, consider the sexual assault on a college campus handled in a closed-door session. No information reaches the public. The assailant gets a slap on the wrist. All records are sealed. No one ever finds out that this is happening so the college doesn't have to report that sexual assaults are on the rise on their campus.
And what of the people who try to bring these secrets to the public? While there are laws to protect whistle-blowers it's a uphill battle for even the highly connected. This book further explores the emergence of new types of classifications of levels of secrecy that are quickly becoming innumerable. It's as if "classified", "top secret" and "secret" weren't enough. To make matters worse, there are even people who are assigned a task of going over publicly available and re-classifying it as top secret. Ted Gup's collection of several case studies explains how obsessive our nation has become in keeping secrets, the long-lasting effects of confidentiality and the negative effect it is having on our nation.
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