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Politics : View from the Center and Left
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To: JohnM who wrote (102099)1/27/2009 9:58:56 AM
From: cosmicforce  Read Replies (1) of 542720
 
In my case, I was questioning the litmus test and whether the government should be seeking out specific people from rigid backgrounds. You mentioned that whether this was a good idea is debatable.

I find it more than debatable - it promotes the creation of a corps of "Yes men". It doesn't reward "out of the box thinking" because anyone that could add color (metaphoric color that is) or diversity (of thought) is summarily rejected. It is as though I didn't believe there were diamonds in the U.S. so I don't even look. There are indeed diamonds in Arkansas - some pretty good sized ones have been pulled out. I'm sure not looking for just another suit and tie for the FBI and CIA brings some real value. There is no evidence that people who have unorthodox backgrounds are any more likely to betray their country than people who have always done things by the rules. In fact, in my experience, it was the opposite. When I was in the Navy the unorthodox people were all put on nights and a crew of half as many did twice as much. This is not just a single data point.

The major spy cases have frequently involved people with secret lives. Clearly the criteria they use is not a perfect litmus test, and as matter of course, they simply won't look for people that could bring forward an important viewpoint.
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