To Tell or Not to Tell.

Post #15,870 by mmoffitt 10/31/01 11:46:50 AM Reply	To Tell or Not to Tell. Either way, the government's screwed. If you tell the public everything, you risk panic and further depression of an already depressed economy. Disagreements on economic theory aside, I think most will agree that the level of "confidence" amongst the People has a profound impact on the functioning of the economy. So, there is the incentive to remain silent, or at least ambiguous. OTOH, if you withhold all information and something happens, public confidence is also shattered: "How could they not see this coming?" Finally, releasing partial information is, imo, a game by which the government can have plausible deniability about "being out of the loop", whilest maintaining some facade of safety. Or so the reasoning would go. Unfortunately for people paying attention, it is likely more disquieting to be told, "Something's gonna happen, but we're not going to tell you what." I don't see anyway to release all/some/no information on this that is going to make anything much better. :-(
Post #15,874 by addison 10/31/01 11:55:15 AM Reply	Re: To Tell or Not to Tell. If you tell the public everything, you risk panic and further depression of an already depressed economy. Disagreements on economic theory aside, I think most will agree that the level of "confidence" amongst the People has a profound impact on the functioning of the economy. So, there is the incentive to remain silent, or at least ambiguous. Ambigious is the worst way to be. So you scare people, but tell them not to worry. So you destroy trust. I didnt' say they had to say everything - there is a need to keep some security assets, sometimes. But if they're going to come out and say "everybody look out, tomorrow's going to be an attack, but we won't tell you where or when, and oh, go about your daily routine" - that's stupid. We need to change the daily routine, obviously. Pretending otherwise - And presuming the government will save us from everything is a mistake. Addison
Post #15,877 by admin 10/31/01 12:04:18 PM Reply	On being vigilant, and changing your daily routine. Heard on AM last night: (paraphrased) -------------------- So, the government told me to be vigilant and look out for potential dangers. I decided to comply. As I backed out of my driveway, I looked carefully in my rearview mirror and to the right and left down the street to make sure there weren't any oncoming cars or objects/people in the driveway. I maintained a steady speed, slightly under the speed limit, making sure to slow down in wet or congested areas. I carefully used my turn indicator and when in doubt, I gave the other car the right of way. Because since September 11, 2001, more people have died in car accidents than are buried in what remains of the twin towers. And most of them are innocents. ---------------- Regards, -scott anderson
Post #15,910 by mmoffitt 10/31/01 3:59:24 PM Reply	Xcellent

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