In more traditional societies, shame and honor help govern both conduct and relationships. They hold individuals accountable to their families, to their communities, and ultimately to themselves.
That shame and honor are absent in today's Washington is everywhere apparent, and we are poorer for it. Of the many examples of this sad reality, none is more vivid than in the issues at play in this week's resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.
Ongoing investigations into the his role in the controversial firing of nine U.S. attorneys, and in pressing the Administration's plans to use warrantless wiretaps and engage in other infringement of civil liberties, had put Gonzales in a compromising position.
While he testified under oath, in hearings before the U.S. Senate, that he was not involved in the firings, had not sought to influence the testimony of other witnesses, did not apply pressure on others in the Administration to support the policies under investigation, or simply did not recall matters relevant to the inquiry - other facts and testimony provided by more credible witnesses show Gonzales to have been less than truthful. Because of these inconsistencies, the Inspector General of the Justice Department is conducting an investigation into whether or not Gonzales lied in his testimony - itself a crime - and whether other acts constitute criminal violations.
This is, of course, disturbing since Gonzales is the United States' highest ranking law enforcement official. But even more disturbing is that he ultimately resigned not because he lied or advanced policies that were questionable on legal or Constitutional grounds, but because he had become a political liability to the White House.
In public remarks announcing his resignation, Gonzales admitted no wrongdoing and displayed no shame. In accepting the resignation, President Bush lashed out at those who had attacked his Attorney General, saying "His good name was dragged through the mud for political reasons" and characterized his treatment as "unfair." No shame. No accountability. No honor.
But Gonzales' shame lies even deeper.
On August 28, a military court martial meeting in Fort Meade just outside Washington, the officer in charge of the interrogation center at the Abu Ghraib prison, whose lower ranking soldiers had been convicted of gross abuse of prisoners, was acquitted of criminal wrongdoing. Since Colonel Steven Jordan was the only officer so charged in this sordid affair, it now appears that, at least in the minds of the military, the Abu Ghraib file will be closed - with no senior officer found criminally responsible for the behavior that brought such pain and disgrace to so many.
With White House memos (signed by then-White House Legal Counsel Alberto Gonzales) authorizing abusive interrogation techniques and with evidence showing that the practices at Abu Ghraib were imported from Guantanamo, how can it be justified that only a handful of enlisted men and women will be held accountable for the crimes committed?
[There is, of course, a perverse irony at work in all of this. The actions at Abu Ghraib were specifically designed to violate traditional honor. Stripping men naked, forcing them into sexual acts in public and in front of women, and all the other grotesqueries captured on film were intended to humiliate, to create shame and break down the will of the captives. Herein lies the perversity of the situation. The prisoners were presumed to have honor and, therefore, to be capable of feeling shame. On the other hand, the captors and interrogators and those who gave them their orders were seen to have none: no shame and no honor.]
A few individuals have been punished, due to the international and domestic outcry that followed the release of the images from the prison. But those who wrote the memos legitimizing that behavior, those who authorized it, and those who supervised the entire sordid affair have yet to be called to account.
As White House Counsel it was Gonzales who either authorized the setting aside of the Geneva Conventions, and enabled the use of torture and other forms of inhumane and degrading treatment of captives, as well as intercepting the communication of Americans without court authorization. Even in the wake of his resignation, this connection has not been made. Republicans saw his dissembling before the Senate Committee as a distraction and a liability. Democrats, meanwhile, focused too narrowly on the Attorney General's most recent behaviors in their investigations.
It is right and proper, as some members of the Senate and House Judiciary Committees have noted, that the investigations into the Attorney General's role in the firings of the U.S. attorneys should continue. Lying before the U.S. Senate cannot be excused. Resignation cannot be the end of the matter. There must be accountability.
But, it is important to acknowledge that the shame goes deeper, and so should the accountability.
Such quiet, reflective, yet intense and urgently forthcoming posts like this challenges people to look harder, think deeper and be smarter then the insulting mainstream media of today, which is just the opposite.
We all- everyone, knows- Gonzales lied. For goodness sakes, one would think, why don't the pundits cut the crap?...I as a hispanic was so ashamed to see him dance like a fool for the powers that be above him, it was incredibly hard to comprehend.
You are very right to ponder and indicate that there is obviously something much deeper wrong here. It's not only that crimes have occured in our halls of leadership fueled by greed and self righteous lusts for power, and must be brought to its full light and disclosure, but also that people have a responsibilty to challenge themselves, see through the crap and really read all the facts, and quit believing the lapdog press that caters to the lies of slick power mongers and start acting like Americans, not sheep.
The bush league administration is staffed with inept, unqualified and underwhelming people solely because they swear allegiance to the shrub above all else, including country and constitution.
After all, the constitution is 'just a goddamn piece of paper'.
The worst president in American history, bar none.
He'll probably stay in a safe circle of people and have enough money so he'll think he's okay.
However, Congress in its never ending corruption scandals cannot held Gonzo to a higher standard.
Congress by itself is synonymous of corruption at all levels.
No branch-body can account for the other. The whole political infrastructure is collapsing and with it our country.
Congress is a circus. Just look at the press coverage of Congress and we only get, gay congressman, warmongers, PACs influence, secrecy, and above all more corruption.
We americans have become so ignorant. It is our own ignorance that impedes us to demand 'accountability'.
The end result was a half dozen low ranking enlisted personnel went to jail and General Karpinski became Colonel Karpinski.
The investigating officer, now retired MGEN Taguba, believes there was a cover up, but I remember him singing a different tune at the hearings, blaming it on Karpinski and the low ranking soldiers.
Nice to see him skewered on his own petard as his career ended when he became the investigating officer. He was in a no win situtation; no one rewards whistleblowers and that's pretty much what the I.G. is.
They appoint some schmuck and he's supposed to uncover wrongdoing of someone in the same chain of command, possibly give an officer senior to him a black eye, possibly stain the reputation of an organization, and be rewarded at the end of day. So, they don't and if you take the time to look at one of their briefings you'll see they work for the commander, not the claimant.
the inept Attorney General for actions he performed
*before* he was in that role, actions for which he was
in effect *rewarded*, with his promotion to A.G.
It should be noted that the legal activities
of the Military are under the control of the
Judge Advocate General (for each service)
& the UCMJ and have nothing to do with the
Attorney General or the Justice Department.
It has seemed for many years that GWB prefers
inept subordinates, so there was no surprise
with Gonzales. Strictly speaking, for the
Unitary Executive to function properly, it's
all the more important that the Senate exercised
its 'consent' responsibility while de-emphasizing
the 'advise' part, as was done in the Gonzales appointment.
The Liar-in-Chief, Gonzales, and the rest of their bottom-dwelling slugs are the slimiest bunch ever to hold power in D.C. (District of Corruption).
I do believe most Americans support your conclusions, though many of us feel cut off from our congress critters. You, however, are a recognized name. Use it.
'My worst days were better than my father's best days...' Because you live in a mansion? Or feed like a pig at the trough of greed? What exactly is better Fredo? Your suit? Your watch? Your car? What is better than what your father offered to humanity?
Isn't this the heart of Republicanism? Good is bad and bad is good. Rich is good and poor is bad. Big cars are good and small cars are bad. Getting deferments from service is good and serving in the military is bad. Lying is good and telling the truth is bad. Their unrelenting crusade to confuse good and bad in the collective mind of this nation has rendered us weak. It has weakened the nation.
Nixon, Reagan, Bush 1, Evil Bush 2, none of them knew the difference between good and bad. Between lying and the truth. Between what makes America good and what makes America bad. What does that say about a nation that votes for them?
As a Nation we need to wake up, rise up and get a grip. There is good and bad and we can tell the difference. There is truth and there are lies and we can recognize the difference.
As for Fredo...he will one day meet back up with his father and have to explain how his disgusting and destructive life was better.
'My worst days were better than my father's best days...' Because you live in a mansion? Or feed like a pig at the trough of greed? What exactly is better Fredo? Your suit? Your watch? Your car? What is better than what your father offered to humanity?