Welcome to 1984

[White Horseradish]

Reclusive loop?   

Watch it, buster. That kind of radial thinking will get you in trouble. 

[longeyes]

Systems built on paranoia, voyeurism, and mistrust eventually implode from internal toxicity.  They are unnatural.  When there is a critical mass of mistrust there will be inertia, inefficiency, and resistance.

[seeker_two]

Systems built on paranoia, voyeurism, and mistrust eventually implode from internal toxicity.  They are unnatural.  When there is a critical mass of mistrust there will be inertia, inefficiency, and resistance.

Then how has SURVIVOR stayed on TV so long?......

[dogmush]

Systems built on paranoia, voyeurism, and mistrust eventually implode from internal toxicity.  They are unnatural.  When there is a critical mass of mistrust there will be inertia, inefficiency, and resistance.

Rev, and others, might have more insight but this has not been my experience with NSA squirrels.  Every one I've worked with has been, as Rev noted, smart, dedicated and very good at what they do.  I got the feeling that the NSA's internal culture was different then DOD (My home).  They seem to actually care about and promote talent, which drastically lowers the "internal toxicity".  NSA has the ability to be pretty dang scary, except that the folks I've actually met actually worry about things like liberty, and whether they should do everything they can.  Or at least they do after a couple shots.

[RevDisk]

Rev, and others, might have more insight but this has not been my experience with NSA squirrels.  Every one I've worked with has been, as Rev noted, smart, dedicated and very good at what they do.  I got the feeling that the NSA's internal culture was different then DOD (My home).  They seem to actually care about and promote talent, which drastically lowers the "internal toxicity".  NSA has the ability to be pretty dang scary, except that the folks I've actually met actually worry about things like liberty, and whether they should do everything they can.  Or at least they do after a couple shots.

Yea, but at the end of the day, they serve political masters. The NSA could indeed be a quite tyrannical master if they ever desired it. Hoover did quite a bit of political puppeteer with the FBI's resources back in the day. If the NSA retasked even a small percentage of their overall resources to finding dirt on politicians, megacorp CEO's, etc... They could very quietly have massive subversive power.

More than one or two non-political figures in the NSA hierarchy know this, and try to keep the culture opposed to such things. Plus draft compartmentalization to keep one department from doing this, without the knowledge of the rest of the NSA. For instance, what if the internal security folks did a J Edgar Hoover file trick on NSA employees and brass?  It's not just a concern for the country, but their own necks as well.

[Perd Hapley]

Rev, and others, might have more insight but this has not been my experience with NSA squirrels.  Every one I've worked with has been, as Rev noted, smart, dedicated and very good at what they do.  I got the feeling that the NSA's internal culture was different then DOD (My home).  They seem to actually care about and promote talent, which drastically lowers the "internal toxicity".  NSA has the ability to be pretty dang scary, except that the folks I've actually met actually worry about things like liberty, and whether they should do everything they can. 

I had a similar experience moving from an infantry battalion to an intelligence unit.

[Perd Hapley]

From Community:

"1984 is a great book. It really opened my eyes in high school. Kids should be forced to read it."

[longeyes]

I didn't say they collapse overnight.  :)   Think longer.   We will all have to wait the bastards out.   The point is these systems are closed, uncreative, non-adaptive.  In the long run they fail.  Of course, true, the long run may indeed be, well, long.  Hey, I'm trying to cheer you guys up. :)

[MillCreek]

From Community:

"1984 is a great book. It really opened my eyes in high school. Kids should be forced to read it."

"And I will party as hearty as my morality clause allows."