I am a huge proponent of the First Amendment.
But this story — about US government policy to quash news about the Japanese “balloon bombs” gives one cause to think. The Japanese, in WWII, launched some 9000 balloons, with various explosives, into the wind currents that would carry them over the US. The idea was to (a) cause massive forest fires in the West, diverting US manpower, and (b) cause mass hysteria among the US population.
About 300 of the balloons are recorded in government records as having actually made it. But the government quashed the story at the time, both to avoid the panic that the Japanese were looking for, and to deny the Japanese the intelligence that the balloons were actually making it (and where they were landing, and what was or wasn’t working when they got here).
If it were happening today, I’ve little doubt folks would be screaming about censorship, about government cover-ups, about the public’s right to know. We’re more cynical about the government’s motivations these days — with more than a little reason, to be sure. Still …
Of course, if it were happening today, would we know? And would that be a good thing?
(Via InstaPundit)