This advertisement for the Cebu International Academy is quite revealing. The term CIA is rather amusing, of course. But it also suggests something about some fundamental trends in our times. As we can see here, the term “CIA,” originally associated with the Central Intelligence Agency established by Harry Truman, has been reduced to a rather amusing phrase that can be assigned to just about anything in a rather light-hearted manner. The authority of force, and the control of information, known from a previous age has been reduced and cheapened. Of course some might say that it is a positive trend, granted the abuses associated with intelligence. But although we should be honest with ourselves about the mistakes of the past, we should also be quite wary of the degradation of terms. Once terms cease to have any real gravitas, authority can be grabbed by just about anyone.
