Under Review, NYT eXaminer piece

The NYTimes eXaminer, an online publisher of critiques of the news reporting done by the New York Times, recently published a piece by their columnist Murray Polner entitled "The Great Book Review War: Kinsley vs. Greenwald, Sullivan and of course Snowden". The article chronicles a fierce dispute over a recent questionable review in the New York Times Sunday Book Review by Michael Kinsley of Glen Greenwald's book "No Place to Hide" about Edward Snowden's leak of numerous NSA documents. In his review, Kinsley had few kind words to say about Greenwald suggesting he, at least in the context of his book, "seems like a self-righteous sourpuss, convinced that every issue is 'straightforward'" among other negative assertions. Kinsley continued by making more speculative claims as to the way Glen Greenwald views himself in his own mind, one might conclude that Kinsley must be very intimate with Greenwald's thoughts but that would only be speculation.  

The book review became more controversial when Kinsley diverted his attention from Greenwald's book to the debate over which is more important, the government's right to keep secrets or the public's right to be informed. Mr. Kinsley rhetorically asks "the question is who decides" in reference to the debate of which government classified documents or secrets should be kept classified and which really should be exposed to the public. Answering his own question, Kinsley asserts "That decision must ultimately be made by the government". This seems to be saying that the powers that be are obviously more astute then the masses, let them decided what information is fit to be passed on to the public. To call this view naïve would be a generosity not afforded to Mr. Greenwald, this statement is plainly ignorant.

Let us imagine a nation in which only the facts approved by the government are provided to the masses. A fictional nation where the rank and file absorbed only approved information and made no inquires as to the validity of the sources, a land in which government control of literature and media was absolute and unchallenged due to strict persecution. Welcome to China, check your civil liberties at the door and wait to be fitted for your self-expression gag. Let us remember how the government in such a nation reacts to demands for free press and transparency, even the facts about how many people the Chinese government killed in Tiananmen Square are censored. Some people might label this view a bit melodramatic, but even the mightiest wave begins with but a ripple.