Principles and the rule of law.

Me principled?

Now I like to think I spent much of my youth as a relatively principled young man. I once, on principle, refused to dismiss a junior from a temporary position because of her weight when directed by a superior to do so, and it cost me two years worth of employment. Another time, I refused to allow myself to be placed into a position I felt was beneath me to allow a decision that was pure cronyism to be made more palatable, and was rewarded with more unemployment and banishment. So I like to believe I am a principled person. I like to believe I have always been a principled person. But....

In that regard I have in the past acted selfishly and often without care or concern for others. Did I believe so at the time? Not really. Being a young indestructible person who fended for himself I gave very little care or concern for the feelings of others except when, for whatever reasons, I was forced to face accountability for my actions. And being young, dismissing things as out of your control is very easy - particularly when you don't know shit but are blind to that reality. My behavior was often at odds with the law. I drank underage for example ....alot.  I knowingly associated with people who engaged in some very bad things and I never said much about those practices. (much = nothing) But I still believed I was principled. And i guess if I never stopped to think about it I was....sort of? I mean ......well its not like I weighed the pro and cons and chose to behave badly right??? Although maybe choosing to not think about it was my sin.

...hmmmm

 And this is where it gets even stickier. I never saw a relationship between the law and principles. As a very young child I accepted as most kids do, that when you are bad the police come and get you. But as I grew older I began to wonder and question the notion if I am doing something that hurts no one else why should the cops care? At a certain point I came to accept what a friend was to tell me later....  

The Law is about the law and nothing else. It is NOT about right and wrong. Right and wrong change and so does the law. 

I mean slavery was legal once right? So was beating your wife? All my peers who grew up in the 60's and 70's and were raised to believe that Marijuana was an evil drug will soon be able to saddle up to the counter at Shoppers Drug Mart and buy it. Yet we incarcerated people for years for just smoking a single joint - we labeled them as criminals for doing what we soon will allow everyone to do so long as we can tax it.

Consider this...Without prohibition would Al Capone have even existed??

But I do believe in Law and order and regulations.  Just not what I see as arbitrary rules and regulations, but rules and regulations grounded in old fashioned common sense and based on whats best for everyone. I also believe that organizations MUST adhere to and follow their own rules and regulations. Nothing is quite so bothersome than to exist and work in a  organization that fails to adhere to its own regulations. That's why senate scandals, and blatant cronyism is so bothersome.  It is bad enough that the rules are broken and ignored by people, but when the people who make the rules, who profess the importance of those very rules,  break and disregard them,  its doubly more so. When institutions violate their own practices and policies it is the greatest breech of the public's trust. The real depressing part is even when it can be proven and shown that politicians and other institutional officials do wrong, they deny, delay, obstruct, wriggle and squirm - will do anything.. to NOT be accountable or to have their breeches set aside and ignored or even worse, reverse engineer the regulations so they don't apply to them after the fact.

I have come to believe that principles are only affordable by the young. Older people who have jobs, bills, children to provide for etc.  they can't afford them. They need to work and pay the bills. It falls to their leaders to exercise them....But the problem appears to be that leadership in government and our other institutions is sadly lacking. Principles appear to be catch-phrases and sound bites as opposed to actual practice. Institutions seem to don and shed principles according to the flavor of the day. "We have Zero Tolerance!!" they proclaim, "complete transparency!!", err "Well we must respect the right of a persons privacy" err,  "These things take time you must be patient..." and so on and so on. They talk in so many looping circles its a wonder they aren't puking on their own asses as they speak.

The fall out of this is all about us. Cynicism, mistrust and lack of belief in our organizations like the goverment,  its various offices, the RCMP (pinch any good bums lately?), the medical professions, and the courts. I fear what I must tell my children to properly prepare them for a world where their protectors, bosses, doctors and elected officials will lie to them, will disregard the rules and laws they have enacted and are sworn to uphold,  will keep the truth from them, and will happily roll dice with their lives, futures and tax dollars both publicly and privately all while smiling and saying nothing as if everything was okay. How do you explain to a child that they can't trust the police or their own doctor or even the Prime Minister? It was only 90,000 dollars right? Small loan, nothing to it, doesn't mean anything, nothing to do with my goverment. Nothing to see here move along please...

I think the world would be a lot better if we did away with all the bullshit and enacted some real accountability. We really need real accountability. It apparently exists for the lower classes and poorer of society.  But it appears the wealthy and powerful seem immune to it. I think it's time we took some of these folks in our institutions and goverment departments and tossed them in with the pot heads we jailed in the 60's and 70's. I mean ...

If it walks like a duck, talks like a duck and acts like a duck    .... put it in with poor sods you arbitrary labeled as ducks.