While there are lots of legitimate reasons of why secrets are necessary, as in, for instance, a form of discretion as well as the legitimate protection of those that would be in harm’s way, if such a secret were exposed, we find that though many secrets are made not so much to protect the innocent but rather to protect the guilty. This signifies that secrets, in and of themselves, while having their place are often overutilized, for it has to be recognized that there are plenty of people and agencies that have secrets, not because they are prudent or necessary, but because what they are doing is foundationally wrong, and they therefore do not desire to be exposed, which is why they keep it secret.
Indeed, the main reason why secrecy is so prominent has not so much to do with the need to stymie “loose lips” but much more to do with the desire not to expose one’s guilt. This is why in any relationship or government, when there is an inordinate amount of secrets, it can be assured that a significant portion of those secrets have been initiated to control a certain narrative that could not exist, without those secrets, which is why where secrecy rules, lies therefore are the king, because the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth is not being told.
It isn’t possible in a nation under the consent of the governed to be fully informed, when that which should be divulged because the information is of interest and is pertinent, is deliberately being either withheld or is being distorted so that the people who are not in the know do not have the necessary information to formulate a valid viewpoint, because they have been deceived, which is why a government built upon secrets is not going to be a construct which is fair or appropriate.
A healthy society, needs to be an open and transparent society, of which, when bad things happen that are regrettable, the best way to deal with such, is to be forthright about such, so that whatever changes or adjustments that need to be made can be made, as opposed to keeping it as a secret, which will thereby necessitate more secrets to cover the initial secret ad nauseam. Similarly, our representatives can’t disclose to the people what is really going on if they themselves are not privy to the secrets of their government.
Those that would rule us, need to own up to their mistakes, and need to let the people know what is occurring under their name, because the more that is held to be secret, or done in secret, the less the people know what their government is doing on their behalf, which may or may not create trouble for them in the future. In sum, most people are forgiving, to those that have done wrong, when those wrongdoers not only admit to their wrongs but make it their point to correct that wrong, and when that does not occur, because those wrongs are hidden, we find that the truth was been subverted by those that have given their loyalty to the kingdom of lies, instead.