One thing is certain. I'm glad that I'm not in
Washington D.C. As the headlines indicate
it's rather a hot spot of late. Swirling amidst
a sea of pointing fingers and counter claims
must be beyond confusing. However as with
most deceptive practices, the more one tries
to conceal the truth the more convoluted one's
false sense of security becomes. You see, as
it's been said many times - the truth will find
you out. Meaning that ultimately all attempts
at subterfuge, falsehoods, or leveraging other
concealed weapons will be foolhardy at best.
That's because karma is waiting in the wings.
Public service is just that. Public. Thus once
one enters said foray, the rules of the road
change. Within the business world one can
operate within a private zone. While there
may be some checks and balances it's fairly
easy to succeed below the surface. Behind
closed doors a business leader can leverage
all assets that give them a competitive edge.
However within our governmental system,
almost everything can, must, and will go
down on the record. Therefore it's virtually
impossible to operate under said radar. And
even if one tries... actually get away with it.
Hence it's no wonder that our new Presidential
administration is in such a mess. Prior and post
their entry into the public forum, Mr. Trump
and his associates were used to having things
their way within the context of business as usual.
Therefore before and after ascending the throne
they interacted as they pleased. Given that upon
starting a new job we all invariably make some
mistakes, the best way to handle any/all errors
of their ways would have been to simply fess up
and apologize. Yet instead of dealing with reality
they arrogantly acted as if nothing had happened.
Even if obviously it had occurred on the record.
Caught in the web of their own making, their
"alternative facts" only add to their already
compromised situation. All of which can at
times seem entertaining. However in reality
can only be deemed beyond disturbing. It's
bad enough that evidence shows the Russian
government tampered and interfered with our
electoral cycle. However what's even worse
is that key members of Trump's team chatted
with them in private. And... later denied said
talk occurred. Only to ultimately be caught
in the act as guilty as charged. Whether that
be Mike Flynn, Jared Kushner, or Jeff Sessions.
One can't help but harken back to Watergate.
For those who have forgotten, the offices of
the Democratic National Committee were
broken into. Subsequently it was found that
key members of President Richard Nixon's
administration were involved. Post attempts
to cover up their involvement, a large scale
investigation was launched which uncovered
multiple examples of the administration's
abuse of Presidential power. Which led to
impeachment proceedings against Richard
Nixon. Then issuing impeachment articles
which drove "Tricky Dick's" resignation.
Stepping back, one can't help but see parallels
to our current crisis. The Democratic National
Committee servers were hacked by Russian
operatives. Depending on one's perspective,
the subsequent release of said confidential data
skewed the election results. Recent revelations
indicate frequent interaction between Trump
cohorts and Russian leaders during the election
through inauguration. Now Congressional and
Senate leaders are calling for an investigation.
All while key Trump administration players get
caught in a web of lies which if one prefers to
be optimistic are simply mistaken omissions.
We Americans tend to rebel against most
traditional forms of structure designed to
protect us. Therefore it seems easy to issue
President Trump and his co-horts a raft of
get out of jail free cards. However that's
not the way our government works. The
rules are the rules. Thus upon assuming
the mantle of our manifest destiny, we all
must behave in a manner appropriate to
our station. Leading our republic requires
operating within a democratic context.
Hence if you want America's respect, you
must speak the truth and nothing but that.