Metes & Bounds: Slouching along

Columnists who have grown up in the tradition of ethical
journalism have had to face some tough choices. On the one hand,
the ethics of the profession require accuracy in reporting and a
personal responsibility to provide the public with decision –
making information that will lead to sound decisions in the public
interest.
On the other hand, the national media has become so concentrated
in the hands of corporations that many journalists find themselves
under considerable pressure, professionally and financially, to go
along with the policies and political objectives of the corporate
owners.
The American Way, as taught in our school primers, leans heavily
on the cherished traditions attributed to leaders like George
Washington, Abraham Lincoln, James Madison and Thomas Jefferson ­
to name a few of the most familiar. Their stories provide a legacy
of selfless public service, dedication to the preservation of a
free Republic, freedom of religion and a free press — and a clarion
cry to their descendents to maintain and protect this cherished
Republic and its Democratic principles.
Unfortunately, not all Americans subscribed to our nation¹s
highest traditions. They pursued their own self-interests in the
political and economic arenas with the help of hired publicists
willing to share in exploiting the opportunities offered by the new
Republic to create and accumulate wealth. Not satisfied with the
legal and ethical means available under the laws of our Democratic
system, they chose to participate in slavery, subjugation and
displacement of indigenous natives, use of indentured labor, the
creation of sweatshops and the exploitation of child labor,
minorities and unskilled immigrants. Working conditions were so
dangerous and severe as to lead to middle-class insistence on
legislation to end the worst of the abuses.
The good news is that the media played a significant role in
calling public attention to the abuses. The bad news is that it
took so long to reach the tipping point where there was enough
public awareness and outrage to generate the critical mass of
energy and determination needed to correct the problems.
It takes more than bumper stickers and headlines to explain the
complex issues facing our Nation today on all fronts ­ economical,
political, ethical, moral, national, international, environmental
and nuclear. The problems require a level of integrity, competence
and leadership that obviously is missing in government; but the
situation will not change until voters understand the problems
enough to reach a tipping point where they demand and enforce a
change at the ballot box.
Consider, for example, that the Administration is constructing a
new maximum-security prison at Guantanamo. Could this be related to
the Administration¹s efforts to get Congressional approval for
legislation that will permit arrest and incarceration of any person
considered suspicious by the government ­ and without warrants or
access to family or an attorney, or even the right to participate
at their own trial?
Unions representing scientists at the Environmental Protection
Agency claim the agency is giving in to political pressure and
allowing toxic chemicals to be used by industry in pesticides that
pose a serious risk to humans.
A Senate committee is investigating over-seas tax shelters being
used to avoid paying some $40 billion a year in taxes. The scams
are based on existing tax regulations, confirming the need for a
total overhaul of our tax system to make it equitable, simple and
transparent.
Ethical columnists will continue to do their best to alert and
inform voters; but we have a real concern that instead of a
³tipping point² our Republic may reach a point of no return
beyond
– Bill Haigwood is a Sonoma West Times & News columnist