Look How Open I Am. Now Stop Asking Questions.
We’ve been sold on transparency like it’s the cure-all for corruption, dysfunction, and bad behavior.
Show your work.
Be open.
Let people see.
Sounds good right? Except transparency has a massive loophole and that loophole becomes obvious as soon as you start asking questions.
The Loophole… It doesn’t have to be true.
Sit with that.
IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE TRUE.
And even when it IS true, it only has to be the part they want people to see.
And even when it IS the whole truth, it can be buried so deep that finding the actual problem feels like doing archaeology on a filthy, depraved landfill.
Here’s how the loophole shows up in context…
Lie of Omission – Edited to show you only the parts they want to be seen.
Strategically Shaped Story – The selectively-edited story they need you to believe.
Hidden in Plain Sight Data Dump – Bury the truth in so much noise that you give up.
Confidently Lying Very Loudly - Say it fast enough, bold enough, and often enough that volume and velocity replace accuracy as the standard for believability.
The question was never “did they show us something?”
The question is did they show us the right thing, the whole thing, and did it actually matter?
Visibility is NOT honesty.
Volume is NOT proof.
So keep asking questions.
The next time someone leads with how open and transparent they are, treat it like a yellow flag, not a green one.
Ask what’s missing.
Ask who benefits from this version of the story.
Ask about what’s buried on page 247 of that 1,000 page document.
Ask why the names are redacted.
Ask who decided what got released and what didn’t.
Ask what changed between the first version and the one they finally let you see.
Transparency is the floor, not the ceiling.
Truth, accountability, and authenticity are what actually matter and those come from people who are willing to answer the questions, not just control which ones get asked.