--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is not much of a bureaucratic leap…" description: "\"There is not much of a bureaucratic leap, if history is any guide, between a seemingly benign call for 'continuous situational awareness' and the onset..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/479/michael-hastings-6810_any_there-is-not-much-of-a-bureaucratic-leap_2956575.jpg" --- # There is not much of a bureaucratic leap, if history is… ![“There is not much of a bureaucratic leap, if history is any guide, between a seemingly benign call for 'continuous situational awareness' and the onset of a covert and illegal campaign of domestic surveillance.” quote by Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/479/michael-hastings-6810_any_there-is-not-much-of-a-bureaucratic-leap_2956575.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/479/michael-hastings-6810_any_there-is-not-much-of-a-bureaucratic-leap_2956575.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/479/michael-hastings-6810_any_there-is-not-much-of-a-bureaucratic-leap_2956575.jpg) > “There is not much of a bureaucratic leap, if history is any guide, between a seemingly benign call for 'continuous situational awareness' and the onset of a covert and illegal campaign of domestic surveillance.” [Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A seemingly harmless call for constant awareness can quickly turn into secret, illegal spying on citizens. **In simple terms:** Harmless ideas can become illegal spying. Key Takeaway Watch for hidden surveillance motives. Themes privacy government surveillance trust Mood cautious critical Type political analytical When to use this quote - policy debates - journalism - public advocacy - legal challenges - citizen vigilance Key Concepts civil liberties state power covert operations Questions to Reflect On - How can societies balance security and privacy? - What safeguards prevent abuse? A Different Perspective Not all surveillance is illegal; some is lawful for safety. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Awareness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awareness/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Leap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leap/) [Situational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/situational/) [Situational awareness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/situational-awareness/) [Surveillance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surveillance/) ## Related quotes > [Well, I think first of all there was a failure to have real, clear information at our disposal. There was a real lack of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chertoff/well-i-think-first-of-all-there-was-a-failure-to-have-real-clear/) [Michael Chertoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chertoff/) > [Technology has enabled government to have investigative and situational awareness on a scale and scope that were science fiction when the Stasi shut its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yochai-benkler/technology-has-enabled-government-to-have-investigative-and/) [Yochai Benkler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yochai-benkler/) > [The difference between being a victim and a survivor is often a low level of situational awareness. You can't be a super-spy, watchful and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-eisler/the-difference-between-being-a-victim-and-a-survivor-is-often-a-low/) [Barry Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-eisler/) > [I always like how a seemingly benign activity that was meant to be fun can turn into drama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-harrison/i-always-like-how-a-seemingly-benign-activity-that-was-meant-to-be/) [Chris Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-harrison/) > [In America, you have the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act. You've got drones now being considered for domestic surveillance. You have the National…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-brooke/in-america-you-have-the-cyber-intelligence-sharing-and-protection-act/) [Heather Brooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-brooke/) > [The government must give proper weight to both keeping America safe from terrorists and protecting Americans' privacy. But when Americans lack the most basic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-franken/the-government-must-give-proper-weight-to-both-keeping-america-safe/) [Al Franken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-franken/) > [I would love to do a biopic or a situational comedy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huma-qureshi/i-would-love-to-do-a-biopic-or-a-situational-comedy/) [Huma Qureshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huma-qureshi/) > [Accept the FacT that, Sometimes people have to Lie in order to Save Themselves from Too Much Shame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pacifiersucker/accept-the-fact-that-sometimes-people-have-to-lie-in-order-to-save/) Pacifiersucker > [I don't have any favourites, but I like situational comedies, not forced ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sushmita-sen/i-don-t-have-any-favourites-but-i-like-situational-comedies-not/) [Sushmita Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sushmita-sen/) > [“With its continued dismissal of the law of God in ethics, Fundamentalism expressed both a "spiritualized" form of situational ethics and a "Christianly submissive"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-l-bahnsen/with-its-continued-dismissal-of-the-law-of-god-in-ethics/) [Greg L. 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Violence is almost always morally corrosive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/i-have-a-deep-seated-skepticism-about-the-morality-of-violence/) [Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) > [The humanitarian argument is so selective I find it difficult to swallow. It's not even so much about the choice as to where we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/the-humanitarian-argument-is-so-selective-i-find-it-difficult-to/) [Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) > [If Bill O'Reilly is calling you a far-left critic, in my book, no matter what your political persuasion is, that's probably - that probably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/if-bill-o-reilly-is-calling-you-a-far-left-critic-in-my-book-no/) [Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) > [I'm post-cynical on this stuff. 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I was going to use the word useless. But I don't know if that's correct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/the-state-department-is-essentially-i-was-going-to-use-the-word/) [Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) > [If someone tells you something is off the record, I don't print it. If they don't tell me something is off the record, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/if-someone-tells-you-something-is-off-the-record-i-don-t-print-it-if/) [Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) > [If you polled the military in Afghanistan as to how many think we should be there or not, the numbers would probably be similar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/if-you-polled-the-military-in-afghanistan-as-to-how-many-think-we/) [Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) > [Afghanistan would have been difficult enough without Iraq. Iraq made it impossible. The argument that had we just focused on Afghanistan we'd now be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/afghanistan-would-have-been-difficult-enough-without-iraq-iraq-made/) [Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) > [“Her name has been released to the press. Her photograph is released, too. I want to talk to the press about it. I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/her-name-has-been-released-to-the-press-her-photograph-is-released/) [Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) > [The frightening aspect is that it's part of a larger effort from the Pentagon to tear down the wall between public affairs and propaganda,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/the-frightening-aspect-is-that-it-s-part-of-a-larger-effort-from-the/) [Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) > [An information operations team was sent to Afghanistan to conduct various psychological operations on the Afghans and Taliban. 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