Wednesday, June 01, 2005

Dave Winer links to if Watergate were happening today...

There's something disturbingly wrong with this picture. The truth is that undoubtedly Watergate is happening today. Stuff equally bad, if not worse, is going on, and the ecosystem of podcasts, MP3s and bloggers isn't strong enough to bring Bush down over it.

Why? When we all have so much more power to express ourselves and to disseminate information.

Momus understands :


Axiom 3 for transparency:

In the age of information the only way to hide facts
Is with interpretations,


there is no way to stop the free exchange
Of idle speculations

In the days before communication
privacy meant staying at home

Sitting in the dark with the curtains shut
unsure whether to answer the phone

But these are different times, now the bottom line
Is that everyone should prepare to be known

Most of your friends will still like you fine


(My emphasis.)

Damning news about the US government, (and pretty much anyone else) is leaking continuously. But so is a continuous barrage of "interpretation" : spin from professionals, sly insinuations and cheerleading from rabid ditto-heads. Every side has valid points to make, and every side amplifies those points to drown out the negative.

Is this system more likely to find the truth, eventually than the old media? I don't think we're given a priori guarantees of that. Though we all hope ... maybe it just takes a longer time.

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