What to Do with President Bush?
I have been referring to a friend who sends me e-mails that get me thinking. Well her name is Ginger, and she’s is very intelligent gal who is acutely tuned into the national political scene. Today her message lamented the seemingly replacement in the federal government of the notion of service with either that of unlimited power or financial enrichment.
I responded as follows:
You're absolutely right. Within industry, the sole objective is profit. Not only corporate profit, but also profit accruing to each individual working within industry. Throughout my entire 48 year career in the defense industry, I was well paid from public tax monies to work on fascinating technical projects for my own intellectual enjoyment and monetary enrichment. The fact that the purpose of all the projects was to better defend the nation, was totally irrelevant to both myself and the company that hired me, in the sense that the true objective was merely the opportunity for profit.
It seems to me, as somebody pointed out, that a democratic society is not an end in itself, but rather a means for securing the best possible life for all citizens. As I see it, our democratic society is made up of four estates according to commitment of self that should work in a harmony of mutual re-enforcement. The first estate, the highest calling, is the military that is made up of individuals who literally commit their lives to the defense of our society. The second estate are all those citizens who make up the government, both elected and non-elected individuals who are motivated by service rather than profit and are dedicated to managing and improving both the engine and fabric of our society. The third estate is industry and its workers who provide the energy, products, and finances that power our society. The fourth estate is that of charity. Institutions and individuals who are committed to helping those who, for whatever reason, society has failed.
The problem today, is that the profit motive has infested the second estate. Although not unique to his coming, under Bush, the notion seems to have flowered that elected and appointed government offices are solely opportunities for either the exercise of unlimited personal power or personal financial enrichment.
What to do? Well we will have wait to vote the entire lot out them out office.
But, as I recall, the Athenians, who of course invented democracy, had a better - more immediate - solution. When the actions of some government official offended the citizens, they ostracized him and his entire family from the city. In the case of the Alcmaeonids family, the offense was so great that they not only exiled all the living members of the family, but they dug up the bones of all their ancestors and dumped them outside the city boundary.
We should consider exiling the entire Bush family to Mexico along with the family’s bones. South of the newly-approved fence, is the perfect resting place for them all.
I responded as follows:
You're absolutely right. Within industry, the sole objective is profit. Not only corporate profit, but also profit accruing to each individual working within industry. Throughout my entire 48 year career in the defense industry, I was well paid from public tax monies to work on fascinating technical projects for my own intellectual enjoyment and monetary enrichment. The fact that the purpose of all the projects was to better defend the nation, was totally irrelevant to both myself and the company that hired me, in the sense that the true objective was merely the opportunity for profit.
It seems to me, as somebody pointed out, that a democratic society is not an end in itself, but rather a means for securing the best possible life for all citizens. As I see it, our democratic society is made up of four estates according to commitment of self that should work in a harmony of mutual re-enforcement. The first estate, the highest calling, is the military that is made up of individuals who literally commit their lives to the defense of our society. The second estate are all those citizens who make up the government, both elected and non-elected individuals who are motivated by service rather than profit and are dedicated to managing and improving both the engine and fabric of our society. The third estate is industry and its workers who provide the energy, products, and finances that power our society. The fourth estate is that of charity. Institutions and individuals who are committed to helping those who, for whatever reason, society has failed.
The problem today, is that the profit motive has infested the second estate. Although not unique to his coming, under Bush, the notion seems to have flowered that elected and appointed government offices are solely opportunities for either the exercise of unlimited personal power or personal financial enrichment.
What to do? Well we will have wait to vote the entire lot out them out office.
But, as I recall, the Athenians, who of course invented democracy, had a better - more immediate - solution. When the actions of some government official offended the citizens, they ostracized him and his entire family from the city. In the case of the Alcmaeonids family, the offense was so great that they not only exiled all the living members of the family, but they dug up the bones of all their ancestors and dumped them outside the city boundary.
We should consider exiling the entire Bush family to Mexico along with the family’s bones. South of the newly-approved fence, is the perfect resting place for them all.
posted by Bob Baker at 5:37 AM
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