Re: The Morals of Marches

From: "Michael J. Poirier" 
Date: Thu, 20 Mar 1997 07:06:40 -0800
Subject: Re: The Morals of Marches


Z9c10 wrote:
>
> I've been keeping up with this net opera about how a bunch of folks are
> going to 'March on Area 51' in the name of Freedom of information.  It
> seems like a valiant move to make the US government to open up.   But
> there are just a few (heh) things.
>
> First off, NO ONE has the right to know secrets the government wants to
> keep.
>
> Neither you, me, anyone from a foreign nation, or any unauthorized
> personnel have the right to cross that line.  You don't have a right to
> know what's in a secret military test facility.  You don't have the
> clearance.  You don't have the authority, you simply don't have that
> right.  Freedom of Speech is NOT extended to the nation...only the press.
> You can say what you want, you can gather peacefully, but you cannot
> simply walk 1000 yards onto a secret base because you feel you have the
> right to know something the government doesn't want you to know.  I hoped
> this brings an end to this discussion.
>
> Nick
>

BULLSHIT.

By taking the position that "NO ONE has the right..." you have just
given your power and rights to others. By allowing a government to
determine what is good for itself, and the people it serves, you
irreversibly deteriorate the democracy, and eventually it will collapse.

For too long, the U.S. government has used the cloak of secrecy to waste
money, natural resources and human lives. A small handful of individuals
work out their personality disorders without any accountability for
their actions. There may be occasional good derived from secrecy, but on
the whole it is destructive to our society.

The formation of this country was based on civil disobedience, and if
the people who gather on the perimeter of area 51 wish to march on the
base, then they have that right. And they also accept all risks
associated with such an action. However, if you had a mass of humanity
collectively deciding to march to Groom Lake, any action taken by the
government would succeed only in hastening its demise.

Simply: the _government_ has NO RIGHT to determine for me what it will
or won't tell me. As a citizen, _I_ determine how the government acts in
my best interest...the government DOES NOT determine what is best for
me.