"Unaccountability is symbolic of all government. It encompasses the
implication that government is supreme and can do no wrong. It thrives on
the fear of those it subjugates making clear it has the power of life and
death over its citizens."
|
|
Government Accountability
NO SUCH THING!
Posted October 3, 2004
thepeoplesvoice.org
By: Ted Lang
Whatever happened to accountability? Everyone I know wants to be number
one, the top dog or gun; the title where the buck stops. Whatever happened
to that inescapable assignment of responsibility?
Those in upper positions are often heard to quip, "That's why I get paid the
big bucks!" But whether it's stopping the buck, or making the big bucks,
somebody at the top must be held accountable. Why else would an
organization be needed if not to compartmentalize and differentiate work and
various tasks to accomplish an organization's overall mission under a
designated leader?
And where else is there a more significant reference to an organization's
purpose than in the military where the term "mission" is so commonplace?
The military relies upon its "chain of command" in order to execute a
designated mission. Orders are directed downward, and most failed military
missions have resulted from mistakes and miscalculations made at the top.
Both successes and failures are usually directed upward at the originators
and planners of mission strategy. No commander or chief executive can hide
behind the excuse that they were simply ignorant of certain circumstances
and events because of some failure on the part of subordinates under them.
After innumerable failures on the part of both the FBI and the CIA,
President George Bush did absolutely nothing to either direct rebuke at the
leaders of these organizations within his administration, nor did he do
anything in terms of honestly confronting the American people with either an
apology or an explanation. His failure to terminate FBI Chief Robert
Mueller III, and the belated resignation of the CIA's George Tenet,
demonstrate an arrogance of rank while dodging responsibility. This is an
arrogance of unaccountability always demonstrated by despots, tyrants and
absolute rulers.
Unaccountability is symbolic of all government. It encompasses the
implication that government is supreme and can do no wrong. It thrives on
the fear of those it subjugates making clear it has the power of life and
death over its citizens. It amasses its power by replacing the fear of God,
the true giver of life, with the fear it inculcates via the use of deadly
force. As such, in its every involvement in human events, it should be held
accountable. Government is supposed to be our servant, not our master.
The key to preventing runaway, out-of-control government, a government such
as we now have, is accountability. It is for this reason that the presence
of a free and independent press, a press free from government control and
regulation, is so vital. Our government is no longer accountable to us
because of the absence of true journalistic challenge.
Our media is now a function of either of our two mainstream political
parties, forming a meaningless political polarization that inhibits our
ability to recognize the total rescission of our rule of law and our
resultant loss of individual freedom. Neither political party is addressing
critical issues during this most crucial presidential election. The
technology that so awesomely empowers our government's military might has
also provided an alternative to a compromised and non-existent American
press. The Dan Rather and Jayson Blair incidents are indicative of the
extent of the political polarization, as is also the rapid growth and
success of FOXNews.
The rapid success of FOX is evidence of the frustration the American people
are experiencing in seeking an honest, reliable, fact-oriented news medium
to understand what is really going on. Also confirming this is the rapid
drop in ratings of Dan Rather and CBS News. The Internet offers a
refreshing alternative as Jim Moore has pointed out; but there is a problem.
The Internet is the new medium of our younger citizens, most of whom are
clueless as to our Constitution and Bill of Rights. They know how to surf
the Internet, but not how to think constitutionally about a limited
republican form of government. On the other hand, oldsters that have a
solid political base are intellectually stunted in their political views
because of the absence of a balanced, free and independent press. They are
intellectually stunted and uninformed in a political sense because of an
unprofessional biased press on the one hand, and talk radio on the other.
This is the real generation gap, and fortunately, it is narrowing. But this
narrowing is happening while our government is rapidly expanding and
curtailing our freedoms at a frightening pace. The criticality of this
election is the race between informing the voters versus the government's
speed in totally enslaving us.
-###-
© THEODORE E. LANG 9/29/04 All rights reserved.
|