Trust - the USA and the NSA.

Trust is defined, in my well used two volume New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, as “Faith or confidence in the loyalty, strength, veracity of a person or thing; reliance on the truth of a statement without examination.” Trust is thus a very fragile feeling or sense of understanding. To me the important part of the definition is “… without examination.”

If something or someone needs to be constant examined before you “trust” them or it, what does this say about your own state of mind? What does this say about your own trustworthiness?

Speaking generally now, my life experience has shown me that people who are trustworthy trust others. Such people have a sanguine belief in their leadership and moral standing; a sufficient confidence in their own activities and their own abilities that they would not countenance treating others in a way that betrays trust – “their word is their bond”. My life experience has also shown me that such people, by their exemplary example, lift others to behave as they do and to follow their example.

Historically spies have never been considered as exemplary beings. Spies have always been considered untrustworthy, as “two faced” and to be avoided – one never knew what their motives were or where their loyalties lay. When caught spies have always been treated harshly and, certainly in times of conflict, are often executed.

When the spying activities of a country or the malpractice of an organization are exposed internally by an employee with a strong moral compass – ie a “whistle blower” - outrage is the normal reaction. The fact that a government or organization has been exposed as “untrustworthy” is treated as a “betrayal”, as something abhorrent. This turns the whole idea of trust on its head.

Why is the individual – the whistle blower - condemned and not the government or organization that initiated the, now exposed, activity?  This is the same criminal mentality that considers the only crime is to be caught – not the crime itself.

To prove my point just look at the treatment applied to and the penalties inflicted upon the hapless Corporal Bradley Manning and the threats levelled at both Julian Assange and  Edward Snowden. Going further back in time recall the uproar caused by Daniel Ellsberg when he released the “Pentagon Papers”, he was called the “most dangerous man in America”. All these people did was to expose the moral shortcomings of the United States of America; to expose the untrustworthiness of the various Administrations activities to the World.

This should not be allowed to happen – the USA is supposed to hold the moral high ground and cannot not be seen to descend to the level of the base activities of lesser countries.

Is the USA with its now notorious National Securities Agency worthy of the trust it is trying desperately to maintain? I am not sure anymore. Trust comes from within; trust cannot be imposed; trust cannot be willed; trust has to be earned.