totalitarianism and belief

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A friend sent along two Internet stories I thought were interesting:

Julian Assange

-- One was an interview with Julian Assange, the enfant terrible of Wikileaks, which has made public many communications that others wished to keep secret. If I had to guess, I would say this pale man who looks as if he could use a bit of sunshine is a proponent of democracy -- the kind of democracy that exists before the politicians got hold of the word.

In the interview, Assange depicts the totalitarian drift of information management. "Totalitarian" is one of those 50-cent words that teenagers and white-whiners can bandy about without much reflection. Politicians use it to define someone else. Assange strikes me as someone who can use the word and produce the subtle threads of evidence to back it up... someone worth listening to, however dismal the vision.

-- The other article outlines the polled particulars of Ireland's largely-Catholic constituency ... who believes what and acts on it. I found the article enjoyable because I always like it when anyone reflects a little on widely-held beliefs ... beliefs that are so much easier not-to-examine. Personally or socially, why and how is the monolith a monolith and does that monolith stand up to scrutiny ... how does it square with the facts? Catholics, Buddhists, Democrats, Republicans, atheists, true believers ... and the whole host of cherished views I find it so much easier not-to-examine.
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