Lies, all lies

Interesting, isn't it. After five years of the "war on terror", the net result seems to be that the average citizen* is more jaded, more cynical, than we were before. We know that we are under serious threat from aggressive, fanatical, homicidal maniacs who are out to destroy democracy... and the suicide bombers aren't very nice either.

Ahaha. Couldn't resist. Sorry.

Anyway, as I was saying. We know that there is a real threat. We also know that our Inglorious Leaders' response to said threat has been... questionable. They have systematically lied to and manipulated us and ignored the public will — and done so in a way that's sure to increase the ire of the extremists, while not really making us any safer. In fact I don't think they can make us safer, other than perhaps by making the societies we live and participate in so very objectionable. We're moving in the wrong direction then, aren't we?

So this — lies, misinformation, abuse of trust — is now what we expect. So there's a new scare... so an increasingly large chunk of the population thinks, Hm. Is this just another big lie?

I was on holiday when I heard about the Big Airport Meltdown. I didn't have an emotional reaction to it at all (beyond "hey, good thing we travelled by train"). I didn't think, "Ooh, how lucky they caught the plot before it happened." I also didn't think, "It's all a big lie, evil bastard politicians." I pretty much marked it with a question mark and stuck it into a folder in my mind labelled "undecided". And I'm still undecided, because I haven't really bothered to follow the story. I am pretty sceptical about "intelligence", under the best of circumstances, and this was clearly very far from the best circumstances. Apparently I missed the small detail that said "Pakistani intelligence" came from an interrogation.

Oh. Yes. Somehow that adds to my scepticism quite a lot.

Thanks to strawberryfrog for a predictably cynical take on the matter. I don't necessarily trust Craig Murray either (no offence Craig, I just don't know you), but it's an interesting read.

Anyway, one good thing may yet come out of all this (considering that global warming could pose a far greater threat to our civilisation than any political or religious extremism). Fear of terrorism, or even just of hassles with security, might succeed where eco-campaigners have failed in discouraging unnecessary air travel. Score one for the planet.

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* This may be a complete untruth. I'm not even sure it's true of the "average netizen", which is already a very different thing. It's just a broad impression I have.