Oh, how you have changed

[Franconicus]

So you think it is a problem caused by the press? I do not know. In the 80ies, we had far less media, radio and TV was public. Today we have loads of private broadcasters and - of course - the internet.

But think that a man publishes secret documents to blame the government for violating civil rights and he has to flee. When I was young, that would have been a Soviet dissdent looking for shelter at Washington D.C.. Today he is at Moscow, blaming the US government, which is not really denying what she has done. You see what I mean, things have changed.

I do not think that you can put all the blame on the media. And I am not looking for a cause or even a solution. It is just shocking to see our old ally standing on the other side. So what has my government, my people to do?
Following the Americans like we always did. Or sticking to their original values and break with the US?

America has changed because the world has changed. New technology allows things that were downright unthinkable just 30 years ago. A group of like-minded individuals can coalesce on the Internet regardless of physical distance between them. They can share ideas, come up with a plan, do their research, coordinate their actions to ensure that their plan is a total success. That plan can be anything from organizing a college grad reunion in Aruba to simply killing a whole bunch of people with homemade IEDs.
The US government cannot operate today like it did a generation ago. Bhutan still can. Maybe Papua New Guinea can as well. America has to stay on top of these things.

World was always changing. Couple of years ago they introduced a new communication technology called "letters", which made it possible for people living at different places to coordinate their actions. Nevertheless the government may not read the letters! Eps. not here at Germany!! Very esp. not mine!!!