20/08/2013
Under normal circumstances, one might be alarmed
at the news furnished by the
over-paid Mr Rusbridger of the loss-making
Guardian.
After all, claims that British agents oversaw the destruction of an unspecified number of his newspaper's computer hard drives in an apparent bid to keep the fruit of Edward Snowden's leaks safe from Chinese spies, is ostensibly a dangerous encroachment on the freedom of the press, and a real threat to the "basic democratic rights" of the newspaper.
Some have thus made comparisons between modern-day Britain and Germany's Third Reich but, apart from the fact that we only have Mr Rusbridger's word for what happened, the comparison is somewhat overcooked.
Taking a wider view of the affair, however, one looks at my
previous post to see that our democracy is degenerating in an alarming way. What we are seeing is close to the end stage of a system of government which comprises four legs: Whitehall, Brussels, Quangos and NGOs. Democracy, in any normal sense, no longer exists.
But this system is one which the
Guardian supports, endorses and is helping to bring about. Rather than express concern at the destruction of a few hard drives, therefore, one might aver that the greatest contribution one could think of, to restoring democracy in this country would be the destruction of the entire
Guardian offices. It wasn't a little hammer to smash up a few hard drives that was needed, but a full-size wrecking ball.
Certainly, when it comes to democratic rights, one cannot see the
Guardian rushing to defend
Dr Alan Clifford, who is currently facing the prospect a criminal prosecution under the Public Order Act 1986 for an alleged homophobic hate crime. What, therefore, is the point of the
Guardian?
Of course, demolishing a newspaper office solves nothing. Another, equally loathsome replacement would soon emerge. But even to consider the idea highlights the logical flaw in making an absolute connection between democracy and a "free" press. Generally, in this country, so badly served are we by our media, that their contribution to democracy â like our democracy itself â is minimal.
And therein lies one of the greater problems of our age. As the very structures of our democracy are eroded, the process of decay is not even recognised. The growth of NGOs is even applauded as expanding "participatory" democracy and the commentariat chase after the Rusbridger hare as if it mattered or had any meaning.
The fact is that without the
Guardian and, for that matter, the rest of the media, we would be no worse governed than we are already. The media looks after its own interests but we must keep reminding ourselves that they are not necessarily ours.
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