Every decent man is ashamed of the government he lives under.
I read these wise words on LRC this morning, where they have compiled a collection of Mencken quotes, and immediately proceeded to surf the newspapers to gather "information" on further black deeds that our Total Chacha State - which all decent Indians are thoroughly ashamed of - is committing. It did not take long to find another horror in the offing.
The news has it that the Cabinet Committee on Security has approved the setting up of a National Intelligence Grid that will gather "information" on wee the sheeple. The report says:
The agencies will also have access to details of phone calls, credit card transactions, visa and immigration records, property records and driving licences of all citizens in the country.
It is time that wee the sheeple looked upon these keystoned kops of our dumb "intelligence" agencies as equivalents of the Soviet KGB, wedded to a socialist State. If this socialist State must go, then these spying agencies of theirs must go as well. That is precisely what has happened in the former Soviet Union, where most former KGB-types are now forced to run honest businesses in order to survive. I was pleasantly surprised to see, a few years ago, a photograph of General Kalashnikov, inventor of the AK-47 assault rifle, launching his own brand of vodka in London.
Similarly, in reformed Red China, many, many PLA operatives are now running honest businesses. Much fuss was made by our dumbo intelligence agencies over a Chinese telecom equipment company that employed a lot of former PLA-types. Jairam Ramesh got into trouble over his remarks that these dumbo agencies were "alarmist" and "paranoid." But Jairam was right. Every denizen of North Block must be on the "hit list" of the Maoists - and should be paranoid. They should be able to clearly see the widespread failure of their god, the Total Chacha State, what with all the "information" they collate. Seeing this widespread State failure, they should indeed be "paranoid" about their own future. For if this State goes, they go as well.
Yet, as Adam Smith once said: "There is plenty of ruin in a nation." Perhaps this State will not go, and the nation will be ruined more and more. If that happens, things will only be worse for these keystoned kops. Their work will become even more hazardous. They would be better off quitting and joining business. In The Market, they might be able to afford Mercedes limousines. Today, they ride the miserable Ambassador.
I will not enter into a discussion on the "privacy" of citizens. What I would like to focus on is whether a huge nation of a billion souls, a mammoth sub-sontinent, can be run efficiently and effectively with "information." Note that the USSA, with its CIA, is heading quickly to State Failure too - because the USSA is not run with "knowledge."
In the ultimate analysis, running an effective and efficient administration requires "knowledge," not "information." With sound knowledge, we have sound policies. There is peace, prosperity, easy taxation - and citizen contentment. This nation is a mess because this sound knowledge is missing - just as it was missing in the Soviet Union or Red China, despite their legendary "intelligence."
So this National Intelligence Grid is just nonsense. It will achieve zilch. And these keystoned kops of ours will get "information" that they will use to harass chosen enemies of the regime, blackmail innocent people, or worse. There will be more oppression and repression. They will NEVER be able to prevent any crime. Indeed, all this "intelligence" could not prevent the assassinations of Indira and Rajiv Gandhi.
Look at it this way: How much can Chacha Manmohan S Gandhi read every day? I hope he reads a few newspapers. I guess he reads files from various ministries and the planning commission on State projects. I hope he reads reports on his ditch-diggers, his miseducators and his stock of rotten cereals. Will he be possessed of time to read voluminous "intelligence reports" too? I sincerely doubt it. In the final analysis, knowledge matters much more than information. I think the nation would benefit greatly if Chacha read Human Action - and dumped all the reports prepared by our unintelligent keystoned kops.
I began with Mencken and will conclude with him. Another quote from that collection goes:
It is inaccurate to say that I hate everything. I am strongly in favor of common sense, common honesty, and common decency. This makes me forever ineligible for public office.
Thus, we must not only be ashamed of our government, we must also conclude that those who occupy public offices are devoid of "common sense, common honesty, and common decency." Decent people do not make gigantic plans to snoop on other people.
I am strongly opposed to this National Intelligence Grid. I hope you are too.
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