"HIS VIEW" BY STEVE KANNON - A DARK VIEW OF BUREAUCRACIES & DEMOCRACY

Today's Woolwich Observer carrys the following opinion by Steve Kannon titled "Bureaucracies have way of leading to undemocratic, if not evil outcomes". This is essentially a very dark view of both the world and our governance structures. I'm not saying that I disagree simply that it does not gve much hope for right being done even in democracies.

Quotes such as the following give the flavour of Steve's position: "At the provincial and federal levels, the public good is never a consideration.'. Or "For the most part, there is a certain inevitability that things will change in the direction of those with the most influence and money.". Referring to the Nazis and other tyrannies Steve says "Today's bureaucracies are similar in nature if not in degree to those groups.". Wow!

Back to the Nazis Steve quotes Hannah Arendt as saying "the trouble with Eichmann was precisely that so many were like him, and that the many were neither perverted nor sadistic, they were, and still are, terrifyingly normal.". Without referring to Woolwich council I certainly see them in Steve's next quote: "Rather the real threat comes from politicians and bureaucrats who craft rules to avoid responsibility and to justify their decisions, no matter how poor, wasteful or harmful...".

The last quotes are close to my heart namely "our corrupt courts are part of a mirage of justice. The role of these government agencies and courts, and of the legislature, is to sanction abuse rather than halt it.". Finally referring to the water scandal in Flint, Michigan, Steve says "In a functioning judicial system, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and Flint's former emergency manager, Darnell Earley, along with all the regulatory officials who lied as a city was being sickened, would be in jail facing trial.".

Steve has pulled no punches. It is a depressing outlook upon the state of our governance and it has become the norm rather than the exception.