The authorities and their actions are the key instruments for the protection of democratic principles and ideologies in different states. However, this area of public life is extremely complex, which can be explained by the scale and volume of demands and impact. One of the features is the presence of the Secret Government in the United States, whose actions were exposed and presented to the public by several people, such as Moyer. It is necessary to analyze why a given government can violate democratic principles and its actions should not be justified.
It should be noted that the media is an extremely effective tool of influencing the consciousness of society. This is actively used by any kind of state power, in particular, by the democratic system and parties. In the United States, there is a Secret Government, whose actions in relation to citizens are ambiguous. The fact is that this body serves for the benefit of society and the state, but uses non-standard, bordering on cruel and illegal measures (Reich, 2013). To allow the Secret Government to violate democratic principles in their actions, it is necessary to influence and distort the ideology in such a way that it becomes dangerous for the current government.
This can be done in several ways, but the most striking and simple one is the use of the media as a propaganda tool. The fact is that with changes and the formation of a new opinion in society, citizens will begin to have other moods. This will be noticeable primarily in the emerging rallies and strikes, since the situation of the emergence of an ideology that is contrary to the democratic one is being considered (Domhoff, 2021). To identify hotbeds of dangerous social movements and sentiments that sabotage democracy, the government will need to exceed its powers.
For example, the Secret Government will be forced to control and monitor the privacy of citizens through mobile devices and social networks. First of all, the makings of contradictions arise during the interpersonal communication of individuals, which means that it is this sphere that the state will have to control. However, such actions are contrary to democratic principles, one of which is the inviolability of private life. Another broken rule will be freedom of speech and freedom of opinion. Thus, the Secret Government is able to act outside of democratic principles in case there is a propaganda influence on the opinion of citizens (Domhoff, 2021). It is important that such an influence should be dangerous for the existing system.
In addition, there is now evidence that the NSA is flouting democratic norms. For example, Moyers’ revelations about the organization’s actions suggest that the NSA is violating the foundations of democracy and “Americanism.” The fact is that the ideology of America is built on fair elections, independence and freedom of citizens. However, the vast majority of NSA activities in the 20th and 21st century are aimed at controlling elected presidents in different countries, as well as aggressively suppressing the will of some citizens (Gellman & Poitras, 2013). I believe that such actions should be condemned, since it cannot be justified in any way. The only goals pursued by the government in these cases are profit and political interest, but not the protection of the oppressed layers or the support of democracy (Moyers, 1987). In addition, the organization is trying to indirectly subjugate and control many areas of other countries and the United States itself (Moyers, 1987). This fundamentally contradicts the principle of equality and freedom, which form the basis of “Americanism”.
As a conclusion, it should be noted that the phenomenon of the Secret Government can be explained by the complexity and versatility of the sphere of power. This organization has a controversial character, since it pursues positive goals, but uses cruel and undemocratic methods. In cases of exposed interference, it must be unequivocally concluded that the Government has neglected the principles of democracy in order to achieve benefits. At the moment, the organization can exceed the authority if it detects the appearance of a danger to the existing order of the country.
References
Domhoff, W. G. Who rules America? The corporate rich, white nationalist republicans, and inclusionary democrats in the 2020s. Taylor & Francis, 2021.
Gellman, B. & Poitras, L. (2013). U.S., British intelligence mining data from nine U.S. Internet companies in broad secret program. The Washington Post. Web.
Moyers, B. (1987). The Secret Government: The Constitution in crisis. Moyers. Web.
Reich, R. (2013). The two centers of unaccountable power in America, and their consequences. Robert Reich. Web.