Sailors & Marines First Whistleblowers

Review by Bill Doughty

Even as Americans fought to become a nation, some of the first Sailors and Marines stood up for honor, courage and commitment by reporting to Congress the unethical corruption and abusive misconduct of their commodore, Capt. Esek Hopkins.

And Congress stood up for them.

Two hundred and forty-two years ago – January 2, 1778 – Congress voted to fully terminate Hopkins's service and have him removed from the Navy.

America's first whistleblowers included Captain of the Marines John Grannis, Third Lieutenant Richard Marven (or Marvin) and Midshipman Samuel Shaw along with seven other Marines and Sailors, according to Stephen Martin Kohn, distinguished attorney and author of the comprehensive "The New Whistleblower's Handbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Doing What's Right and Protecting Yourself" (Lyons Press, 2017). Their bravery came before a U.S. Constitution or First Amendment was created to protect them.

"These sailors [and Marines] were devoted to fighting and winning the War for Independence. They were revolutionaries, risking their lives to build a free and independent America; they wanted nothing more than to fight and defeat their British foes. However, they feared that their commander could not successfully lead any such effort, for his tactics foreshadowed doom for the new American Navy. They blew the whistle on the mistreatment of prisoners almost 250 years before other whistleblowers exposed mistreatment of prisoners in the modern 'war on terror.'"

The Sailors' commander, Esek Hopkins, was commander-in-chief of the young Continental Navy. He came from a powerful family; his brother was governor of Rhode Island and a signer of the Declaration.

The Marines and Sailors, including the ship's carpenter and chaplain, petitioned Congress and reported allegations in letters that Hopkins "treated prisoners in the most inhuman & barbarous manner." He also failed to attack a British frigate that ran aground, and he disobeyed, disregarded and dismissed the U.S. Congress.

In "The New Whistleblower's Handbook" author Kohn publishes some of the testimony presented to Congress's Marine Committee, which conducted an investigation into the allegations and suspended the highest-ranking naval officer.

"John Hancock, the president of the Continental Congress, and the most famous signer of the Declaration of Independence, certified the resolution and ordered that it be served on Hopkins," Kohn writes. "Hopkins remained under suspension for over nine months. He never appeared before Congress to refute the allegations."

In a typical response to whistleblower complaints, Hopkins retaliated against his accusers, holding a sham court-martial and even jailing two of the men, who again petitioned Congress for help.

"On July 30, 1778, the Continental Congress came to the defense of Marvin (Marven) and Shaw. The Congress, without any recorded dissent, passed a resolution that encouraged all citizens to blow the whistle on official misconduct. Perhaps for the first time in world history – and unquestionably for the first time in the history of the United States – a government recognized the importance of whistleblowers in exposing official misconduct of high-ranking officials working for the government itself. The act of Congress could have been written today: 

'That it is the duty of all persons in the service of the United States, as well as all other inhabitants thereof, to give the earliest information to Congress or any other proper authority of any misconduct, frauds or misdemeanors committed by any persons in the service of these states, which may come to their knowledge.'"

The Founders authorized the government to pay the attorney fees for the jailed whistleblowers who Hopkins charged with libel. Congress also prevented obstruction by authorizing the release of all pertinent government records.

The whistleblowers were vindicated, and Congress ordered Hopkins to pay their court costs. Kohn contends that the case connects directly to the adoption of the First Amendment more than a decade later. The Navy whistleblower case influenced other acts in the 19th and 20th centuries and was recognized in a unanimous resolution by the U.S. Senate on July 7, 2016, honoring the Sailors and Marines and recommitting to support and protection of whistleblowers.

A Revolutionary Civil War Issue

The need for protecting whistleblowers seems to re-arise about during times of national division and increased defense spending. During the Civil War, Congress investigated frauds by government contractors such as selling sawdust as gunpowder, overcharging taxpayers, and otherwise "profiting from the terrible costs of war."

"When Congress investigated the frauds, it discovered that insider employees had blown the whistle and were subjected to retaliation. In one case the employee architect of the Benton barracks in Missouri reported that he was 'cursed and abused,' 'terrified,' and threatened with imprisonment for blowing the whistle on bribes paid to obtain construction contracts for the barracks."

This led to President Lincoln signing the False Claims Act, March 2, 1863, as protection for taxpayers and the treasury. The FCA became important two generations later in the lead-up to World War II to identify companies using deceptive contracting means to sell defective equipment, including "substandard' steel to the Navy."

Government contractors with powerful lobbying nearly defeated the FCA, and another generation went by before it became revitalized under the False Claims Reform Act and amendments. This was during the time of the $435 hammer, $640 toilet seat and $7,622 coffee pot.

"At the height of the 'Reagan Revolution,' and its gargantuan increases in defense spending, a freshman senator from Iowa, Senator Chuck Grassley, led the charge to increase oversight and accountability for federal spending by resurrecting the False Claims Act ... On October 27, 1986, the False Claims Reform Act was overwhelmingly passed by Congress and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan."

Sen. Chuck Grassley (Republican, Iowa) and Maj. Gen. Laura Richardson participate in a Senate Veterans Affairs Committee and Joint Services reception held at the Russell Senate Office Building, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2015. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class David Marin)

The reinvigorated act restored the rights of whistleblowers to report fraud, waste and abuse, and demonstrated the federal government's protection of whistleblowers.

The explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1986 led to an investigation that showed employees within Morton-Thiokol, a private contractor, had tried to blow the whistle over safety concerns. Nuclear power safety concerns, Enron's devastating scandal, Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme, a company knowingly selling salmonella-contaminated peanut butter – all these cases involved whistleblowers, and each is discussed in the handbook.

But this book is not just about history.

"The New Whistleblower's Handbook" is also a practical, comprehensive (550 pages) guide for federal workers, private industry employees and the general public. It outlines hundreds of strategies and regulations related to whistleblowing in and out of government, acknowledging, "There is no single comprehensive national whistleblower protection law."

What are the pitfalls of using a company hotline? What if a complaint is with one's supervisor and manager? What are deadlines and statutes affecting different types of whistleblower rights? What about military service members?

"The Military Whistleblower Protection Act permits members of the armed services to lawfully communicate with Congress, their chain of command, and military inspectors general. The Act also permits members of the armed services to raise allegations of violations of law, discriminatory conduct and 'gross mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, an abuse of authority, or a substantial and specific danger to public health and safety."

Kohn provides information about deadlines, appeal rights, and relief entitlements.

Federal employees can get information about the Office of Special Counsel (https://osc.gov) and Merit Systems Protection Board (www.mspb.gov).

Capt. Mark P. O'Malley, the commanding officer of Coast Guard Sector Baltimore, gives his remarks during a press conference regarding a case between the United States of America and Irika Shipping S.A., a ship management corporation sentenced to pay $4 million for deliberately discharging oil and waste into the ocean, Sept. 21. A Coast Guard inspection crew discovered that the motor vessel Iorana, a Greek flagged cargo ship managed by Irika Shipping S.A., used a "magic hose" to bypass a oily water separator in order to discharge what was later revealed to be approximately 6,000 gallons of oil contaminated sludge and bilge waste. (Photo by: Petty Officer 3rd Class Robert Brazzell)

There's an APPS for That

Kohn explains various laws, regulations and specific acts like FCA, Dodd-Frank, Sarbanes-Oxley, Lacey, Atomic Energy, Airline Safety, OSHA, HIPAA, and environmental protection initiatives, including the Act to Prevent Pollution from ships. The latter incentivizes reporting with rewards and is having a positive affect on cleaning the oceans and protecting wildlife.

"Currently, most, if not all Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS) ocean pollution cases are brought to the government's attention by whistleblowers, and these sources are now the key to the successful prosecution of ocean polluters. APPS includes a whistleblower reward provision that, over time, has proved vital to enforcing laws preventing pollution on the high seas.How can the United States obtain jurisdiction over pollution that is dumped into the high seas, outside U.S. territorial waters? Jurisdiction is based on how the United States implements the International Convention for Prevention of Pollution from Ships, as modified by the protocol of 1978, better known simply as the MARPOL Protocol, the leading international treaty protecting the oceans from pollution."

Kohn notes that in the past ten years the U.S. government, in cooperation with whistleblowers, collected about $279 million in fines and penalties from polluters who violated the APPS. Reports are made through the U.S. Coast Guard National Response Center, 800-424-8802; www.nrc.uscg.mil.

Tim Todaro, deputy inspector general, Regional Health Command-Pacific, leads his team through a practical exercise Jan. 12 during a Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General whistleblower reprisal investigations course, Jan. 12, 2017, at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wa. (Photo by Flavia Hulsey)

Risks and Rewards

Whistleblowers in and out of government in various industries and activities have saved taxpayers billions of dollars. In one IRS case, whistleblower Bradley Birkenfeld helped U.S. taxpayers recover more than 13.7 billion from wealthy tax evaders. He was awarded $104 million as part of a successful whistleblower claim.

But the serious act of whistleblowing carries risks. Employers and people in power are apt to "circle the wagons and shoot the messenger."

"One of the biggest mistakes shared by most whistleblowers at the onset of a case is the belief that somehow doing the 'right thing' will be rewarded and that the system will naturally work. Although a nice thought, that is the exception, not the rule. Regardless of the reputation of one's boss, it is simply not possible to predict how a company will respond to a report of wrongdoing by one of its own employees."

For whistleblowers who find the courage to stand up and report crimes, "there is no choice but to prepare a defense for his or her career and reputation," Kohn advises.

He presents hundreds of resources and points of contact for further research. The national framework of federal and state laws, including ongoing refinement of anti-retaliation laws, "is extremely complex and consists of numerous federal and state laws, but it is also plagued by loopholes and technicalities that cause unnecessary hardship to many employees."

Thomas Jefferson Memorial (Photo by TSgt. Eric Miller)

Kohn concludes with this reason for patriotic Americans to stand up for the First Amendment  and against corruption and – like the early Sailors and Marines and the nation's founders – denounce malfeasance:

"Corruption is a cancer on all democratic institutions. It converts the 'rule of law' to the 'rule of backdoor influence.' Greed trumps justice."

Asian Perspective

Review by Bill Doughty

East or West? Free for all or a free-for-all? Who's up and what's down in evolving global relationships?

"Those who are looking for either rigid lines of alliance or moral clarity among Asia's shifting partnerships will find themselves in an Escher painting."

What's needed is a new perspective.

In "The Future Is Asian" (Simon & Schuster, 2019) author Parac Khanna notes that civilization was born in West Asia. "Asia dominated the Old World, while the West led the New World – and now we are coming to a truly global world. There is no turning back from today's multipolar, multicivilizational order."

While China plays a central role in the future global order, those "shifting partnerships" and tenuous loyalties are especially evident in the maritime commons, where "each littoral state has a different name for its portion of the South China Sea."

Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class Blake Rodenas uses the “big eyes” on the starboard bridge wing of the Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10) while in the South China Sea, Dec. 23, 2019. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Damon Grosvenor)

As Capitalism becomes a common link even in China and Russia, the waterways throughout Asia, including in and around the Arab states, become even more strategically important. This week China, Russia and Iran are conducting an anti-piracy/anti-terrorism maritime exercise in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Oman. 

"The more South and East Asians engage with the Gulf region, the more they will want to protect their investments. China, India, Japan, and numerous other Asian powers have all stepped up their freedom of navigation, counterpiracy, and other naval drills in the western Indian Ocean. India, seeking to recover the Chola Dynasty's maritime might, has increased its naval acquisition to more than a quarter of its defense spending with the aim of becoming the gatekeeper of the eponymous Indian Ocean. In the name of maintaining a 'free and open Indo-Pacific,' India and Japan cooperate in the annual Malabar Exercise with the United States, which has renamed its Pacific forces to Indo-Pacific Command. China is also seeking to recover its Ming Dynasty glory, sending flotillas to the Indian Ocean led by modern-day Zheng Hes. China alone has four times as many destroyers, frigates, and other surface warships as India (though still fewer than the United States and Japan). In the coming years, it may anchor more of them in Sri Lanka's Hambantota Port – which the government leased to China in 2017 for ninety-nine years after being unable to repay the loans for the port's construction – or even the Maldives, which was agreed to become a maritime hub of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). China's more active presence in India's maritime theater has the country on high alert."

Quartermaster 2nd Class Ziolan Bondoc, from Riverside, California, assists with navigation in the bridge of the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Antietam (CG 54) in the Philippine Sea, June 13, 2018, during exercise Malabar between U.S., Japan and Indian maritime forces. (MC2 William McCann)

Khanna presents in detail the nuances of Asian relationships. For example: Turkey's Erdogan who has "lurched toward Asia;" Israel "ever more a part of the Asian system;" Pakistan's rumored Chinese naval base on the Jiwani peninsula "to challenge the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet;" Myanmar as a strategic investment for China, India and Japan; and Vietnam's "pugnacious" approach toward China – "Vietnam is not afraid to send its navy to collide with Chinese vessels and oil rigs trespassing in its water."

Vietnam People’s Navy Lt. Cmdr. Le Thanh Binh, July 16, at RIMPAC 2018. (MC2 Kory Alsberry)

He notes that in 2018 the United States invited Vietnam to participate in the Rim of the Pacific exercise in Hawaii, while excluding China.

Meanwhile, "China's enormous investments in antiship ballistic missiles, stealth submarines, robotic warships, electromagnetic railguns, swarming drones, and militarized reclaimed islands and shoals in the South China Sea (are) all intended to push U.S. forces east of the international date line."

"At the same time, China knows it is not omnipotent. Though it has enormous leverage over most of its neighbors, even military triumph in outstanding disputes may generate such adverse political and economic backlash that it is not worth the price. China cannot assure itself that seizing the multitude of disputed islands and mountains on its periphery would not lead to a blockage of its BRI projects or large-scale diversion of foreign financial and industrial activity. China has learned from Japan's hyperaggression and the United States' overstretch to show restraint and caution, not pursue invasion and occupation."

Khanna shows how Russia and China are getting closer. "Asian states are forging new geometries of cooperation," Khanna writes, including "budding military cooperation among Japan, Vietnam and India; between Australia and Japan; between India and Indonesia; among China, Malaysia and Sri Lanka; and among China, Thailand and Cambodia." Asian nations, including especially China, are investing in and trading with African countries.



"The Future is Asian" presents a scholarly history, a present state of affairs, and predictions for what may unfold in countries throughout the region, including Russia, Iran, India, Pakistan and North Korea.

"North Korea will be the true test of whether Northeast Asia can move from strategic suspicion to tactical adjustments. North Korea has been thought of as an isolated failed state, but the fact that its covert nuclear program has had links as far as Pakistan's A.Q. Khan nuclear smuggling network, its chemical weapons program to Syria's Bashar al-Assad, its ballistic missile program to Iran, and its cyber-surveillance tools to Russia, are all evidence of the seedier side of the Asian system. Asian states can conspire to form an 'axis of resistance' to perceived U.S. hegemony."

Khanna notes that claims by the United States of domination and exceptionalism ("America First") ring hollow and sanctimonious to Asian ears. Harmony and humility are valued over power and pride.

Asians in general, Khanna argues, prefer "cooperation over anger" and "action over argument" – including when dealing with common issues like water shortages, agricultural challenges, inequality and poverty, immigration, pollution and climate change. "China, Japan and India are all major exporters of solar, wind, nuclear and other energy technologies that reduce our global carbon footprint."

Robot Astro Boy

Keys for future success are in education and technology, Khanna asserts. Asians' views of AI and robots are closer to Astroboy (called "Atom" in Japan) rather than Terminator, he asserts.

Along with education and technology, technocracy is embraced. Freedom and democracy do not work without an educated citizenry led by experienced and thoughtful representatives and leaders. Khanna holds up Singapore and itsstatesman Lee Kuan Yew as models of excellence.

Still, he warns of technocracy leading to authoritarian governments that can practice corruption and trample civil rights. "Always beware the oligarch in disguise ... The essence of technocracy is improving governance, not preserving one's own rule."

"After observing Russia's manipulation of Facebook in the 2016 U.S. election – and viral videos sparking riots in India and Myanmar – Asians have recruited Facebook and WhatsApp to actively screen and counter viral hoaxes to ensure that 'fake news' does not destabilize communal harmony. As the economist Danny Quah puts it, free-for-all populist cultures resemble the comments section of online newspapers: they get hijacked by ranting trolls. A better model might be liberal societies in which officials act more like Wikipedia editors who ensure veracity and a sense of order."

Thefts of intellectual properties, tariffs, greed, revanchism and destruction of the environment are challenges for a peaceful future.

Khanna contends that Americanization is giving way to Asianization, even in Europe, and that "Asia is the most powerful force reshaping the world order today." He writes, "To appreciate just how rapidly global order can realign, consider the arc of the post-WWII era."

Whether or not readers agree with all of the author's conclusions and recommendations, especially his views on democracy, he compels us to consider other perspectives and how we approach the future – with less self-centeredness and arrogance and instead with greater humility, honesty and reflection.

Parag Khanna has served as an advisor to the U.S. National Intelligence Council and U.S. Special Operations Forces.

Faith in What

Review by Bill Doughty

A former president of the United States compares his faith and "commitment to a higher calling" to his time in the Navy, especially on deployment. Jimmy Carter contemplated death and eternity while served during the Korean War.

"It is difficult to explain, but I found this sense of inevitability and acceptance to be most similar to my feelings as a young submarine officer, when everyone who served in the military had to accommodate the prospect of potential death. We had a remarkable sense of liberation when we left our home port for a wartime cruise. The multitude of life's routine responsibilities and worries could be forgotten, with our concerns limited to those duties within the narrow confines of the submarine hull. Our written monthly reports concerning personnel and equipment were in abeyance until we returned, and even the cherished duties of a husband and father were left behind. I would be with seventy-one other men for a pre-ordained time and, of necessity, I had faith in the abilities and steadfastness of my fellow crewmen. The duties were onerous but, except for unforeseen crises within the ship, they were routine and predictable. The simplicity of this life was surprisingly satisfying. I dealt with potential concerns, even the possibility of tragedy, by focusing on my immediate duties, realizing that all results could not be under my control. On the ship, we all knew that a few dozen special people shared a special bond, each depending on all the others."

Carter's service in the Navy is brought up several times in "Faith: A Journey for All" (Simon & Schuster, 2018). It's an easy, introspective book with deeply personal thoughts, serving as another stream-of-consciousness memoir by the 39th president and a discourse on the meaning of faith. He writes, "My faith in other people, concepts and things ... (and) my faith as a Christian has provided necessary stability."

Among the concepts he values are peace, truthfulness, equality and justice. He says, "Regardless of our wealth, education, or other blessings, each of us can decide whether we want to be kind or cruel, generous or selfish, humble or proud, truthful or a liar, peaceful or combative, and loving or hateful." 

This book is a fascinating exploration what it means to be faithful and truthful, and how someone can balance facts revealed by science with beliefs in Christianity today.

Midshipman Jimmy Carter

"There is a difference between reasoning and believing," Carter explains, "but both can lead to faith. 'Faith' usually means belief either in a doctrine that we accept as truth or in a truth that is self-evident."

"The importance of telling the truth has been deeply engrained in me, first by my father and then at the U.S. Naval Academy. Daddy always reserved his most severe disapproval for any of us children who made a false statement to him or my mother. At Annapolis, we midshipmen all know that any revealed lie would be punished by instant dismissal."

Carter recounts growing up in the segregated South in Plains, Georgia, where white students rode to school in buses and black children had to walk, and where – even one hundred years after the Civil War – "only white adults were permitted to vote and to serve on juries."

"The next event that affected me directly was when I was a submarine officer and President Harry Truman ordained as commander in chief that all our military forces and the U.S. Civil Service end racial segregation. There was no trouble in implementing this command, and all of us on the ship saw the advantages gained by both black and white members of the crew. When our family returned home from the navy in 1953, this commitment to racial equality had become a part of our lives."

As in his other writings, Carter recounts his relationship with one of his mentors, Adm. Hyman Rickover, father of the nuclear Navy.

"I never discussed religious faith with him," Carter writes, "but Rickover had exemplary faith in his own ability and judgment, the value of tenacity, and the ultimate triumph of scientific facts."

Carter cites the influence of theologians such as Reinhold Niebuhr, author of "Justice and Mercy," along with evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould, author of "Rocks of Ages." Carter writes:

"The basic moral codes that shape and control our lives are the results of the laws of evolution; they have not varied for ages, and we know that their preservation is always dependent on transmission from one generation to the next. Primarily because of the tools and weapons that ensure our dominance, our physical development of strength and agility is no longer important in competition with other animals for survival. This means that the course of ascending evolution will be shaped by whether we learn to cooperate in doing what is good for each other instead of how we can prevail over others in combat. I believe this means that humans will have to evolve and implement fair and equitable treatment among ourselves, which could come close to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights."

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, along with the Bible's Ten Commandments and moral verses in the Koran, Carter says, can provide guidance for the future. Other major world religions from the East, such as Buddhism, Hinduism and Confucianism, are barely mentioned if at all in "Faith," which makes Carter's argument for inclusionary religion curious.

Carter visits USS Carl Vinson in 2013. (MCSN Iain Stratton)

He acknowledges a personal interpretation of what may be fallible or infallible in scriptures, including in subjects such as women's rights, race and homosexuality. And he recognizes that his Christian orientation toward religion is rooted in his family and place of birth and in individual choice. "When there are apparent discrepancies I decide what to believe."

Faith, he says, is innate to all humans, and it comes in many forms.

"The first absolute faith that most of us developed was in our mothers, as we suckled at their breasts or relished the warmth of their protective bodies. Even as a child, I soon acquired faith in my father and later in my siblings, my teachers, some other relatives, and then a few of my close friends and playmates. I evolved faith in myself, with an increasing awareness of my own limitations. Later came faith in the U.S. Navy and fellow crew members on my submarine, plus things to which I was devoted during my career: democracy, freedom, and the ideals shared by citizens of the United States; service to others, justice, equality and truth."

Carter's Christian faith is one of tolerance and acceptance as well as action. His "higher calling" is service to others and living an honorable life. The former president says Jesus Christ is "a constant source of reassurance, strength and guidance" in finding a purpose in life and in combating the Seven Deadly Sins: "lust, gluttony, greed, laziness, wrath, envy and pride."

Committed to peace, Carter nevertheless acknowledges the need for a strong defense. "Although the life-and-death power I held as commander in chief was sobering, I was and am convinced of the moral rightness of maintaining America's military strength."

This book includes an op-ed by Carter from March 2003 just before the war in Iraq: "Just War – or a Just War."  And it comes with a recommended bibliography with works by Gould, Niebuhr, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Clarence Jordan, Richard Kroner, Barbara Brown Taylor, Paul Tillich and others. Carter is a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.

The Seawolf-class fast-attack submarine USS Jimmy Carter (SSN 23) transits the Hood Canal, Sept. 11, 2017, as the boat returns home to Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor. Jimmy Carter is the last and most advanced of the Seawolf-class attack submarines. (U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Cmdr. Michael Smith/Released)

With Respect to the Truth ...

Review by Bill Doughty

Here's a mind-expanding book that offers cosmic advice for the future – and the advice is most welcome today. 

Can we distinguish between facts and beliefs? Do we understand why some people reject science and secular values of truth, compassion, equality, freedom, courage and responsibility? Are we ready for a world in which humans could be irrelevant but under the control of more authoritarian leaders? Oh, and by the way, "what is the meaning of life" (and why is that the wrong question)?

According to philosopher-scholar Yuval Noah Harari in "21 Lessons for the 21st Century" (Spiegel & Grau, Penguin Random House, 2018), twin revolutions of infotech and biotech are bringing about big data algorithms and bioengineering as the world races to embrace artificial intelligence.

"What we are facing is not the replacement of millions of human workers by millions of individual robots and computers; rather, individual humans are likely to be replaced by integrated networks," Harari writes.

USAF maintainers prepare an MQ-9 Reaper drone at Ali Al Salem Air Base, Kuwait, July 23, 2019. (SSgt. Mozer O. Da Cunha)

This is a challenge already for the U.S. Air Force as it accelerates artificial intelligence technology:

"AI might help create new human jobs in another way. Instead of humans competing with AI, they could focus on servicing and leveraging AI. For example, the replacement of human pilots by drones has eliminated some jobs but created many new opportunities in maintenance, remote control, data analysis, and cybersecurity. The U.S. armed forces need thirty people to operate every unmanned Predator or Reaper drone flying over Syria, while analyzing the resulting harvest of information occupies at least eighty people more. In 2015 the U.S. Air Force lacked sufficient trained humans to fill all these positions, and therefore faced an ironic crisis in manning its unmanned aircraft."

Harari said the future may see "the rise of a new useless class" as we experience higher unemployment and a shortage of skilled workers. "Today, despite the shortage of drone operators and data analysts, the U.S. Air Force is unwilling to fill the gaps with Walmart dropouts."

In a rapid explanation of human history – from the African savannah through the Crusades and effects of the Industrial Revolution to today's Nuclear Age and into tomorrow – Harari provides an ominous warning:

"The challenge posed to humankind in the twenty-first century by infotech and biotech is arguably much bigger than the challenge posed in the previous era by steam engines, railroads, and electricity. And given the immense destructive power of our civilization, we just cannot afford more failed models, world wars, and bloody revolutions. This time around, the failed models might result in nuclear wars, genetically engineered monstrosities, and a complete breakdown of the biosphere. We have to do better than we did in confronting the Industrial Revolution."

Why worry about the growing influence of algorithms? Harari says the shift in authority from human control to networks of algorithms "might open the way to the rise of digital dictatorships."

One important question for our time, he says, is "who owns the data?"

Harari reminds us how George Orwell in "1984" warned of televisions watching us and controlling free will and freedom of choice. Biotechnology, memory storage capability and data assimilation are advancing exponentially and can be controlled centrally. Imagine the new technologies in the hands of authoritarian leaders.

"In fact, we might end up with something that even Orwell could barely imagine: a total surveillance regime that follows not just all our external activities and utterances but can even go under our skin to observe our inner experiences. Consider, for example, what the Kim regime in North Korea might do with the new technology. In the future, each North Korean citizen might be required to wear a biometric bracelet that monitors everything that person does and says, as well as their blood pressure and brain activity. By using our growing understanding of the human brain and drawing on the immense powers of machine learning, the North Korean regime might be able for the first time in history to gauge what each and every citizen is thinking at each and every moment. If a North Korean looks at a picture of Kim Jong-un and the biometric sensors pick up the telltale signs of anger (high blood pressure, increased activity in the amygdala), that person will be in the gulag tomorrow morning."

Harari warns, "Democracy in its present form cannot survive the merger of biotech and infotech," where authoritarian governments could control citizens "even more than in Nazi Germany."

In "Mein Kampf," Hitler wrote about the importance of constant repetition; his propagandist Joseph Goebbels said, "A lie told once remains a lie, but a lie told a thousand times becomes the truth."

Using lies and intimidation, dictators like Hitler and Joseph Stalin in the previous century controlled people's minds through a cult of personality, belief and anger. "The dictator might not be able to provide citizens with healthcare or equality, but he could make them love him and hate his opponents," writes Harari.

Stalin shamelessly embraced false stories and propaganda as he controlled minds, persecuted dissenters and killed millions of people, including in Ukraine, where his imposed famine became a weapon.

More recently, after Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine and occupied Crimea in 2014 he lied about Russian troops being involved. Later, he and Russian nationalists claimed Ukraine is not a sovereign nation and should be part of Mother Russia.

"Ukrainian citizens, outside observers, and professional historians may well be outraged by this explanation and regard it as a kind of 'atom bomb lie' in the Russian arsenal of deception. To claim that Ukraine does not exist as a nation and as an independent country disregards a long list of historical facts – for example, that during the thousand years of supposed Russian unity, Kiev and Moscow were part of the same country for only about three hundred years. It also violates numerous international laws and treaties that Russia has accepted and that guarantee the sovereignty and borders of independent Ukraine. Most important, it ignores what millions of Ukrainians think about themselves. Don't they have a say about who they are?"

Fortunately, the U.S. Navy stands with its friend, the democratic nation of Ukraine.

Cmdr. Tyson Young, right, CO of USS Carney (DDG 64), meets with a Ukrainian Navy music conductor after a Ukrainian Navy performance during exercise Sea Breeze 2019 in Odesa, Ukraine, July 4, 2019. Sea Breeze is a U.S. and Ukraine co-hosted multinational maritime exercise held in the Black Sea and is designed to enhance interoperability of participating nations and strengthen maritime security and peace within the region. (MC1 Kyle Steckler)

Unfortunately, people throughout the world are unaware of verifiable facts. We are ill-equipped to deal with future "deep fake" attacks, attempts to interfere with free elections, and mind control by digital dictators.

Harari shows that human nature makes us susceptible to false information, and the so-called post-truth era may have started millennia ago with belief systems that reject science and objective reality. Fiction, for many people, is more palpable and believable than fact.

What to do? Harari says we should meditate in order to achieve greater consciousness, which he calls the greatest mystery in the universe. He says, "The big question facing humans isn't 'what is the meaning of life?' but rather 'how do we stop suffering."

This book is a good companion to Harari's other works, "Sapiens" and "Homo Deus." As with his previous works, "21 Questions" goes beyond nations, ethnicities, religions and human consciousness to present a cosmic perspective in examining big questions in search for ultimate truth and wisdom.