Democracy Dies in Darkness

So says the banner of the Washington Post.  Democracy also dies when the people are fed lies and nonsense; then again, democracy dies when the system ensure a large portion of the population lack the critical thinking skills to recognize they are being fed lies and nonsense.

From the Post:

Early last August, an envelope with extraordinary handling restrictions arrived at the White House. Sent by courier from the CIA, it carried “eyes only” instructions that its contents be shown to just four people: President Barack Obama and three senior aides.

It was so critical and so secret that it could not be shown during the normal daily security briefing – that audience was too large.  But now the Washington Post knows about it.

Inside was an intelligence bombshell, a report drawn from sourcing deep inside the Russian government that detailed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s direct involvement in a cyber campaign to disrupt and discredit the U.S. presidential race.

Imagine…we, the entire world, are being told that the United States has a mole – human or cyber – so deep inside Putin’s inner circle that we can understand his “direct involvement” in any action.  If true, would this fact be worth advertising?

But it went further. The intelligence captured Putin’s specific instructions on the operation’s audacious objectives — defeat or at least damage the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, and help elect her opponent, Donald Trump.

The mole was so deep that it captured Putin’s “specific instructions.”  And now you and the entire world are being offered this information, gratis.

A mole that would have taken years or even decades to develop; a mole that could reveal every step and action taken by Putin himself; perhaps the most valuable mole ever developed by US agencies.  And now you know about it.

One might wonder why.  Well, the Post will tell you:

In political terms, Russia’s interference was the crime of the century, an unprecedented and largely successful destabilizing attack on American democracy.

The crime of the century.  Even granting that the century is just over sixteen years old, this is a bold statement.  A bigger crime than the invasion of Iraq; a bigger crime than the invasion of Afghanistan; Libya, Syria, Yemen, Ukraine.  A bigger crime than 911.

Yes, bigger than the disruption and murder of the lives of tens of millions of people.  This is a big crime; so big that it is worth exposing the existence of this mole.

It was a case that took almost no time to solve, traced to the Kremlin through cyber-forensics and intelligence on Putin’s involvement.

The crime of the century “took almost no time to solve.”  Sorry, even I cannot come up with a sarcastic response to this absurdity.

Conclusion

Democracy as it is practiced today deserves to die; state power has long ago consumed whatever good might have been said about such an institution.  Democracy, if it is possible to serve as a governing mechanism, can only do so in small jurisdictions, where neighbors know neighbors.

One thing is certain: when the voters are served garbage like this – and many of those voters lack the sense or integrity to question it – the democracy is already dead.