• OBJECTION!@lemmy.ml
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          6 months ago

          So nothing changed institutionally, and the people now still have the power to do all the stuff the older generation did, and choose not to because they just happen to be better people?

          I’m guessing this supposed change happened right around the time when documents would be too recent to be declassified, yeah?

          • oatscoop@midwest.social
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            6 months ago

            I’d argue it’s a result of the wider world figuring out how crazy they were and thus being subject to more scrutiny. Also, changing attitudes: there’s not quite the “nuclear war is imminent and we’re all going to die” mindset.

            All that, combined with it being easier to get away with the “loud and crazy” things because information was easier to control before the internet.

            • OBJECTION!@lemmy.ml
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              6 months ago

              Are they subject to more scrutiny? What oversight do they have now that they didn’t have then? What protections do whistleblowers have when they come out? What consequences do they face if illegal activities are exposed?

              Not all of their shady activity was “loud and crazy.” The CIA covered up their involvement in Operation Ajax, the 1953 coup against Iran’s peaceful and democratic government, until 2013. There are countless examples like that.

              • oatscoop@midwest.social
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                6 months ago

                I’m not saying they stopped doing fucked up shit. I’m saying they stopped doing weird fucked up shit.