#secrecy

Secrecy sets barriers between men, but at the same time offers the seductive temptation to break through the barriers by gossip or confession. ↗

— Georg Simmel

#between #break #confession #gossip #men

If governments did not mislead their citizens so often, there would be less need for secrecy, and if leaders knew they could not rely on keeping the public in the dark about what they are doing, they would have a powerful incentive to behave better. ↗

— Peter Singer

#behave #better #citizens #could #dark

The sinner will not confess, nor will the priest receive his confession, if the veil of secrecy is removed. ↗

— DeWitt Clinton

#confession #his #nor #priest #receive

All human beings have three lives: public, private, and secret. ↗

— Gabriel Garcí­a Márquez

#privacy #public-image #secrecy #life

As opposition leader, [Stephen Harper] wrote in the Montreal Gazette in the year before he came to power: 'Information is the lifeblood of a democracy. Without adequate access to key information about government policies and programs, citizens and parliamentarians cannot make informed decisions and incompetent or corrupt governments can be hidden under a cloak of secrecy.' When he became prime minister, his attitude appeared to undergo a shift of considerable proportions. It often took the Conservatives twice as long as previous governments to handle access requests. Sometimes it took six months to a year. ↗

— Lawrence Martin

#canada #canadian #canadian-government #canadian-politics #censorship

It has always seemed that a fear of judgment is the mark of guilt and the burden of insecurity. ↗

— Criss Jami

#being-strong #burden #discernment #fear #guilt

If you have to keep a secret it's because you shouldn't be doing it in the first place ↗

— David Nicholls

#secret

The vanity of being known to be trusted with a secret is generally one of the chief motives to disclose it; for, however absurd it may be thought to boast an honour by an act which shows that it was conferred without merit, yet most men seem rather inclined to confess the want of virtue than of importance. ↗

— Samuel Johnson

#self-importance #trustworthiness #vanity #men

While all deception requires secrecy, all secrecy is not meant to deceive. ↗

— Sissela Bok

#deception #meant #requires #secrecy #while

We are all, in a sense, experts on secrecy. From earliest childhood we feel its mystery and attraction. We know both the power it confers and the burden it imposes. We learn how it can delight, give breathing space and protect. ↗

— Sissela Bok

#both #breathing #burden #childhood #confers