1:08 a.m. - 2003-01-01
The Animal Kingdom
I watched a biography of Huey Long last night. The reason was simple - his practices in office closely resemble those of some of our provincial politicians of the ruling party that has been in office since the early 1970's. I was trying to understand the mind set and look for ways to respond to some of the abuses of power that permeate their activities. Assassination isn't acceptable - or any other form of violence for that matter.
The most difficult thing to get my head around is how so many people in the province can know of what goes on, but still continue to vote for them even when the excesses and patronage are publicly acknowledged. I think a lot of it has to do with their early actions which created a perception of a government for and of the "common folk"; "Every man a King" as their democratic society is slowly eroded. Every so often, when dissent reaches a certain level, something that has been taken away is "given back", although in considerably less measure, with great fanfare and self congratulations. "We made a mistake, but see we're fixing it" is the refrain.
Anyone who dares to point out that the Emperor has no clothes can find themselves called to retract immediately or else. Over time, several public servants who have released reports pointing out the actual practices of the government have been blackballed and they cannot find work anywhere in the province. Businesses are too afraid to hire them. I remember a principal of one of the schools being threatened with retaliation because he allowed a parent to submit an article critical of the government's education policies to the school newsletter unless he retracted the article and printed an apologia. At another juncture, a priest was told to retract a sermon because it offended one of the local officials. In both cases, each chose to refuse but that isn't the norm.
The curious thing is that people don't seem to be able to distinguish between the actual behavior that honours the average citizen and attempts to build a healthier society as opposed to the manipulation of the illusion of same. Right after that special, the news came on and reported on the murder of three long time American medical missionaries to Yemen by a man who had likely benefitted both directly and indirectly from their ministrations. So, in the one case a destructive illusion is rewarded yet, in another case, acts of substance are destroyed. What is the answer? Wounded animals often attack the very person who tries to help them, while there is clearly documented evidence of animals like lemmings and whales who will follow the lead of one of their own to their own death - maybe the resolution can be found in that aspect of human behavior. Frankly, it's beyond me.
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