Some people don't need that kind of coercion. Sometimes the incentive of a windfall could motivate them to rob a bank or a convenience store. Sometimes the incentive of receiving extra funds from campaign contributors can motivate a politician to spend it on junkets, cars or houses. Some leaders will lie for personal gain.
Sometimes the common human trait of desiring to control others can make a husband abusive or a law enforcement officer use excessive force or lie about their activities.
"Plomo o Plata". A expression sometimes heard in movies about latin crime syndicates meaning silver or lead. Can someone be motivated by personal financial gain or by threat against their life or the lives of their loved ones?
The fact is that none of us is completely trustworthy. Trust extends only so far as our
interests align. As long as we are after the same goals we can be trusted not because of loyalty to others but because we see the goal as in our own self interest. We may develop affection in friendship or family based on common interests. Consider what happens if Mom or Dad become abusive. No longer are the interests of Mom and Dad aligned and the abuser can no longer be trusted.
For several decades employees "trusted" their companies. Some families even had multiple generations that worked for the company. They trusted the company with their future, with their insurance and their retirement. When the economy had to lay off people and downsize that trust was proven to be unfounded. That doesn't make the company bad or evil. It shows that the absolute trust should have been qualified. Ultimately, the interests of the employees and the company diverged. The employees should never have trusted so thoroughly in the company realizing that eventually their interests would not longer be aligned.
Parents want to trust those who teach their children but we are faced often with those among teachers who have different interests about these children.
Americans have repeatedly trusted in political leaders only to find that their interests and the interests of the leader don't align for long. We want to believe that our leaders are virtuous only to be disappointed once again. Is that the fault of the leader or those who trust them?
People want to trust their religious leaders but we have received reports that even that trust can be misplaced as the leader's interest diverged from their mission.
Americans want to believe that law enforcement personnel are trustworthy especially since they carry lethal force. However, repeatedly we have reports that some have abused and destroyed that trust.
The problem is not with the LEO or Leader or Parent or Teacher or Pastor. The problem is with all of us. We refuse to admit the truth that none of us is trustworthy. We refuse to admit that every human being is corruptible including us. The only question is what the currency will be. Will it be money? Will it be power? Will it be sex? Will it be the safety of our families?
Given this, how can we allow some human beings, corruptible as we all are, to have authority over others without extreme accountability and oversight? How can we allow our gov't to operate in secret and then prosecute those who expose the secrets? How can we allow the proverbial "blue wall" code of silence among law enforcement officers? How can we allow a gov't so large and so invasive to have so much control over the people that the people fear the gov't rather than the gov't fearing the people? How can we remain passive in trusting any political or community leader? No one is trustworthy. None. Not you. Not me.
What can we say then? How can we live like this? Honesty and wisdom requires that we must recognize this truth. The obvious answer is that we must discover the motivations for every role and we must hold the spotlight of accountability on every role. There can be no more dark places. No more secrets. Corruption seeks the darkness, seeks to remain undiscovered. Truth and trust requires exposure. And it requires that we all pay attention. The tendency to corruption is constant. So must the light of exposure be.
No one is trustworthy. None. Not you. Not me.
"Plomo o Plata". A expression sometimes heard in movies about latin crime syndicates meaning silver or lead. Can someone be motivated by personal financial gain or by threat against their life or the lives of their loved ones?
The fact is that none of us is completely trustworthy. Trust extends only so far as our
For several decades employees "trusted" their companies. Some families even had multiple generations that worked for the company. They trusted the company with their future, with their insurance and their retirement. When the economy had to lay off people and downsize that trust was proven to be unfounded. That doesn't make the company bad or evil. It shows that the absolute trust should have been qualified. Ultimately, the interests of the employees and the company diverged. The employees should never have trusted so thoroughly in the company realizing that eventually their interests would not longer be aligned.
Parents want to trust those who teach their children but we are faced often with those among teachers who have different interests about these children.
People want to trust their religious leaders but we have received reports that even that trust can be misplaced as the leader's interest diverged from their mission.
Americans want to believe that law enforcement personnel are trustworthy especially since they carry lethal force. However, repeatedly we have reports that some have abused and destroyed that trust.
Given this, how can we allow some human beings, corruptible as we all are, to have authority over others without extreme accountability and oversight? How can we allow our gov't to operate in secret and then prosecute those who expose the secrets? How can we allow the proverbial "blue wall" code of silence among law enforcement officers? How can we allow a gov't so large and so invasive to have so much control over the people that the people fear the gov't rather than the gov't fearing the people? How can we remain passive in trusting any political or community leader? No one is trustworthy. None. Not you. Not me.
What can we say then? How can we live like this? Honesty and wisdom requires that we must recognize this truth. The obvious answer is that we must discover the motivations for every role and we must hold the spotlight of accountability on every role. There can be no more dark places. No more secrets. Corruption seeks the darkness, seeks to remain undiscovered. Truth and trust requires exposure. And it requires that we all pay attention. The tendency to corruption is constant. So must the light of exposure be.
No one is trustworthy. None. Not you. Not me.
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