[citizensixteen]

>The government’s ponderous declassification process released this letter far too late to have much more than historical impact. But, in the end, the secrecy clouds parted, and the pattern is clear; we’re back in a place we’ve been time and again. One-sided legal arguments lead to one-sided legal interpretations. The government’s secret process let it get away with drafting an entire 22-page letter that did not even cite let alone grapple with these issues.

If there is one thing history teaches us, it is this pattern that repeats itself over and over. For example look at the Stasi of East Germany. The Stasi did everything it did to protect the state and the 'people'. When we look at these totalitarian governments of past, we are shocked and can not believe people allowed it to go on. It is much harder to see these patterns in the present context of our own culture and even harder to do something when things go wrong.

Next time you are in Berlin visit the old Stasi headquarters.

http://www.stasimuseum.de/en/enindex.htm