I’m working on activating security clearances for some folks, and I was impressed by the stringent criteria for SECRET and TOP SECRET clearances. After the John Walker spy fiasco, they have really tightened-up on the already stringent requirements.
Even a SECRET clearance application is 30 pages long and takes days to fill-out, as you must list every place you ever resided for more than a few weeks in your whole life. A TOP SECRET clearance is even more rigorous and can take years to complete.
Check this out, and see if you can be trusted with government secrets:
Are you Trustworthy?
I love the long list of “disqualifying conditions”, and it is somewhat similar to the pre-employment background checks that Janet runs on job candidates. I especially like these:
Problems in Work Performance: The work environment offers many opportunities to exhibit behavioral or psychological problems associated with unreliability, untrustworthiness, or poor judgment.
Employment History: Depending upon an individual's age and circumstances, frequent changes of employment without advancement raise the possibility of unsatisfactory work performance due to dishonesty, irresponsibility, drug use, emotional/mental problems, or other issues of security concern.
Multiple Traffic Offenses: Multiple traffic citations for reckless or high-speed driving, including driving with a suspended license, are examples of high-risk, antisocial behavior that may be a security concern.
Borderline personality disorder: It appears that the Federal agencies are getting better at identifying the personality types that are prone to betray their government. http://www.dss.mil/nf/adr/emotion/emoteT2.htm The principal characteristics of borderline personality disorder are:
- Unwarranted fear of rejection or abandonment, usually associated with low self-esteem. Such persons are uncomfortable alone. Examples of such behavior include inappropriate anger when someone important to them must cancel an appointment, or panic at a temporary separation.
- A pattern of unstable relationships with friends, lovers, or bosses. Such persons need a great deal of nurturing and support from any relationship. They may initially idolize someone who provides that nurturing, but then shift suddenly and dramatically to view that same person as hostile or cruel if they do not care enough or are not "there" enough for them.
Degeneration of Society?
There is lots of discussion about the high crime rates of the 21st century. Middle-aged folks reminisce about those “golden days”, way back when they were kids in the more-innocent times of the 1950’s and 1960’s. We could run freely through the neighborhood without our parents worrying about psychos and sex predators. Here is a wonderful audio book titled “America in the 1950’s”:
