Among others, this.
Less snarkfully, at least China doesn't pretend to be a transparently democratic nation where their citizens get to decide policy at the ballot box every couple of years. One of the most instructive elements of this whole NSA story, after all, is just how much policy in this country is implemented, and how much of our money is spent, without the slightest amount of public debate. Yes, governments have a right to keep secrets, but the secrets-keeping function of our government has become so expansive as to overwhelm the ability of Congress, the courts, or the citizenry to control it. Promoting the growth of anti-democratic institutions within our government may or may not be necessary to Keep Us Safe, but one thing it will not do is to exert a democratizing influence over the government itself. We may regret that one day.
---Baron V
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