Stardate 20010714.1613 (On Screen): One of the interesting ways to differentiate nations is by observing how they deal with cases where the government or its agents make mistakes. For example, what if you arrest and charge an innocent man? Some nations will hold a trial, deliver a verdict of "not guilty" and then release him (and occasionally suffer a civil suit for false arrest). Other nations will hold a trial, find him guilty anyway, but set a penalty which isn't really a penalty such as "time served" for a native or "deportation" for a foreign visitor. (In the worst cases, they find him guilty anyway and lock him away.)
Finding an innocent man guilty because you've arrested him is a form of lying. It says "We really were right to arrest him. We didn't make a mistake. See, he got convicted, didn't he?" It's a way of covering up. But I think it runs deeper. Nations whose governments are afraid to admit mistakes are nations where the governing elite is afraid that it is losing its grip on power. As with people, nations who admit their mistakes forthrightly are the ones who are most secure and confident in themselves. (discuss)
