Destroyer of Words

Richard Fernandez posts a great article at Pajamas Media, looking at the scandal racked Obama administration, and the problems with trust.  Simple trust.

We always knew that technology could do this. What we had not suspected was that the Obama administration would do this.

President Obama came into office originally on a promise to have transparent government, to wield power with compassion, to make the benefits of American citizenship work for all the people.  His signature accomplishment thus far had been the Patient Protection Act, which promised to make health care available to everyone, but which is being universally hailed as a potential train wreck.  Then we have the Benghazi scandal, the AP scandal, the IRS scandal, and now the NSA scandal.  What these scandals teach us is that we are the government, and that power corrupts.  Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Fernandez draws a parallel between the use of atomic power and the use of political power.  We trust the government not to nuke us.  The use of an atomic bomb on US soil would be horrific, devastating, and lead to huge changes in the way that We The People view our government and the people who run it.  Until recently, we also trusted the government to not persecute us based on our political opinions, we trusted the government to not lie to us about pending legislation, we trusted the government to not snoop on us without strict safeguards.

Government is about trust, and the government that we have today is increasingly showing that it is un-trustworthy.  Immigration reform looms on the horizon as it wends its way through the Congress, and we have to trust that the government will not screw us.  That trust has been eroded over the past few months, simply because the people running the government are not trustworthy.  The people running our government aren't truthful with us and they damage the fragile trust that makes this nation great.

The Founders knew this from the outset. A government will always be made up of men. And these men must never be allowed to become so powerful, so exalted, or to be considered so irreproachable that they are left alone to do as they please. Only one thing can stop the Destroyer of Words. Accountability has to be restored to the system. The principals responsible must go. If legitimacy is ever to be restored, those who have no more credibility can no longer lead it. That is inevitable. What remains is to watch it play out.

Indeed.