One notorious example is the priest sex abuse of children over many decades that was known by the highest church authorities but unacknowledged and hidden from the public for the sake of appearances and to avoid lawsuits and large punitive payments. The sacrosanct nature of religion, exalting some men above others, and blind obedience was the cause.
We should keep a close check also on the declarations of politicians as in the example McLeod cites. There is no reason to trust the authorities on the question of heavy spending, especially during this recession and moreover, when we don't even know who all the players are. How, for instance, does the Chamber of Commerce figure in all of this? What kind of lobbying have they been doing?
We should be sceptical of the new pre-emptive war principle that nullifies the Nuremberg principle of national sovereignty against International Law: R2P, or "responsibility to protect" has so far protected no one, as evidenced by the destruction of infrastructure and mass killing in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Qatar and elsewhere. At this time both North Korea and Iran, countries that have attacked no other but have a history of being attacked by direct political interference and/or invasion and war, are under unreasonable sanctions with little or no good-faith attempts at a peaceful and satisfactory resolution. At the same time the mighty U.S. with its state-of-the-art internet communications technology is claiming that Russia actually interfered in its presidential elections, although there is absolutely no evidence of this.
The age of divine and absolute right of politicians, as with kings, is over and it is way past time. Potential abuse is always commensurate with and in proportion to power and wealth. We can arm ourselves with a combination of logic and empathy for the exploited people of the world and accept no action or dictum that doesn't meet that standard. It may not help but it can't hurt, and we have the satisfaction of using our human potential instead of emulating sheep.
Doris Wrench Eisler, St. Albert
