Government Lies

[Abstruce]

Let me re-phrase my question, being my last attempt to address it was moved somewhere else.

This is a simple Philosophical question about the Humanities.

Is it necessary for the Government of any Country to lie to it's citizens?

Can people of the would handle the total truth?

I argue that when censorship and deception are at work the Government is not Governing it is manipulating.

[Tormod]

Originally Posted by Abstruce

Can people of the would handle the total truth?

What do you mean by "total truth"?

[Buffy]

Two points:

1. It is indeed sometimes in the government's interest to lie because it is in the people's interest for the government to lie. This is what national security is all about. There has to be oversight of this--as our current debate as to why the President should be allowed to do anything he sees fit without oversight based on certain phrases in the Constitution--or it becomes a mechanism to hide government malfeasance or corruption or other abuse of power.
2. Governments are really not very good at keeping secrets unless the people who hold them universally agree that its in the public interest to do so. Ownership of secrets changes over time, and eventually if there is not good public interest in keeping them, they will get out. National security secrets do tend to last a long time. Coverups of political corruption rarely last very long at all. UFOs? Given the number of people in power who have expressed the desire to get the information, were it to exist, it would get out pretty darn quick.

Skeptically,
Buffy

[Tarantism]

there are two instances where the government tells lies: corrupt lies about what is actually going on in the white house, and then the little white lies that are told to keep people from freaking out.

the latter i think is nessesary becuase if everyone knew every threat that faced them each and every day, they would freak out. society would just stop functioning because of severe paranoia(sp). i believe that when we are not told about certain threats, and then they are kept secret, the government can hire the nessesary people to take care of these unknown problems without anyone being any the wiser. not a bad wrap.

then again, the secret scams that the white house runs are intolerable, and one of the reasons that i want to leave the united states.

*sails away.

[infamous]

Originally Posted by (((tartanism)))

then again, the secret scams that the white house runs are intolerable, and one of the reasons that i want to leave the united states.

*sails away.

Sooooooooooo, where would you go to find a government that doesn't run scams on it's citizenry?

[Tarantism]

haha what a good point. i cant! how sad!

[Buffy]

Originally Posted by infamous

Sooooooooooo, where would you go to find a government that doesn't run scams on it's citizenry?

Norway! At least as long as the Labour Party is in power!

Libertine,
Buffy

[TheBigDog]

Do you prefer a party in power who believes that truth is is relative, so there is is actually no such thing as a lie?

Bill

[infamous]

Originally Posted by Buffy

Norway! At least as long as the Labour Party is in power!

Libertine,
Buffy

Now that's what I call real faith .

[Buffy]

Originally Posted by webenton

Do you prefer a party in power who believes that truth is is relative, so there is is actually no such thing as a lie?

Those who live in the reality-based community prefer stuff that is "facty" rather than "truthy"

That would be telling,
Buffy