I boil this down to a few categories of people in positions of government. There is a certain word, don't say it too loud or they might run or grab pitchforks, but the word is... cough... accountability.
Looks around carefully. I spent some time contracting in DC, and the conclusion I came to is that there are three main types of people around the government and financial centers of power.
1) Those who are aware of the coming shitstorm and the complete corruption and subversion, and are just trying to "get theirs". This usually ends up in a "I got mine, fuck you" attitude. They don't push back because they know they would get punished for it, so they instead use their knowledge to further their career at the expense of their duty, and principles. They know, but don't care (enough to risk anything) about the status quo.
2) Those who know about the situation, and agree with it. These are usually indoctrinated extremists on either side of the spectrum, neocon, ultra-lib, the kind of people who now think capatalism in it's current form is the best gift from god and they speak of peace while selling massive amounts of weapons to dictators they setup all around the world. They know, and they care (for the wrong things), and actually perpetrate many of the abuses of the system.
3) Those who are too ignorant or stupid to know, or the slightly modified, those who have an idea about how bad it is but would rather stick their head in the sand and pretend reality doesn't exist. They don't know and don't care.
Don't tell me where all the true patriots went. I have told my friends, that "I know not one brave soul, not one." (keep in mind I'm not talking about media figures, like Snowden, Manning, Drake, Binney, Tice, Edmonds, all of whom I do consider brave souls) To me, that is the real problem I faced when I had my Descartes reset, in that I started to realize that while I still believe in the power of an oath, and the duties that come with them, the majority of the people around me and in positions of real power pay tons of lip service to principles, but never actually do them. Personally, I think this is causing a kind of mass cognitive dissonance and compartmentalization that we have yet to realize the full impact of.
When I think about the leadership traits I learned in the Corps, and how little of them I see in our leaders, I fear for the future of my country.
(in case anyone is wondering, they are: Justice, Judgement, Dependability, Initiative, Decisiveness, Tact, Integrity, Enthusiasm, Bearing, Unselfishness, Courage, Knowledge, Loyalty, and Endurance.)
I've seen a steady erosion of ethics in all professions.
I don't know what's causing it. Actually, I have a few hypothesis, but I'll get hammered for even mentioning them.
I used to look at people's actions in society, with the expectation that the average guy would be one of the 65% who delivered the legal 450v sting in the Milgram experiment. That left 35% who would do The Right Thing.
As, I've aged, I see a number much greater than >65%. I'm seeing way too many people doing immoral legal acts. Acts that are highly immoral, but legal.
I used to just take ethics for granted.
I am now Shocked when I run across a person with ethics.
I've gotten so jaded when someone is being honest/genuinely helpful--I look for the catch I missed. So, basically I look at most people, especially the financially successfully with extreme caution.
In Ireland, I was told they look at successful people differently than we so I the United States. They look at that person, and wonder, "Who did they screw over, or step on in order to get there." I overheard this. It might be wrong. I haven't got there, but it's getting close.
I'm not even talking about blatant criminals. I'm talking about the guys in ties. The guys with licenses. The guys with power. The guys who bend the rules in order to get ahead. The guys who exploit poor and uninformed just because they are easy marks.
The Polish philosopher Leszek Kolakowski once said "Original sin remains a profound and insightful view of the human condition".
He didn't last long at Berkeley, as it happens.
That comment on original sin is misguided at best. Original sin sets up guilt before any wrongdoing, it's a means of control, there's nothing insightful about it.
Looks around carefully. I spent some time contracting in DC, and the conclusion I came to is that there are three main types of people around the government and financial centers of power.
1) Those who are aware of the coming shitstorm and the complete corruption and subversion, and are just trying to "get theirs". This usually ends up in a "I got mine, fuck you" attitude. They don't push back because they know they would get punished for it, so they instead use their knowledge to further their career at the expense of their duty, and principles. They know, but don't care (enough to risk anything) about the status quo.
2) Those who know about the situation, and agree with it. These are usually indoctrinated extremists on either side of the spectrum, neocon, ultra-lib, the kind of people who now think capatalism in it's current form is the best gift from god and they speak of peace while selling massive amounts of weapons to dictators they setup all around the world. They know, and they care (for the wrong things), and actually perpetrate many of the abuses of the system.
3) Those who are too ignorant or stupid to know, or the slightly modified, those who have an idea about how bad it is but would rather stick their head in the sand and pretend reality doesn't exist. They don't know and don't care.
Don't tell me where all the true patriots went. I have told my friends, that "I know not one brave soul, not one." (keep in mind I'm not talking about media figures, like Snowden, Manning, Drake, Binney, Tice, Edmonds, all of whom I do consider brave souls) To me, that is the real problem I faced when I had my Descartes reset, in that I started to realize that while I still believe in the power of an oath, and the duties that come with them, the majority of the people around me and in positions of real power pay tons of lip service to principles, but never actually do them. Personally, I think this is causing a kind of mass cognitive dissonance and compartmentalization that we have yet to realize the full impact of.
When I think about the leadership traits I learned in the Corps, and how little of them I see in our leaders, I fear for the future of my country.
(in case anyone is wondering, they are: Justice, Judgement, Dependability, Initiative, Decisiveness, Tact, Integrity, Enthusiasm, Bearing, Unselfishness, Courage, Knowledge, Loyalty, and Endurance.)