From the outset of this anomalous experiment in government of, for and by its people, vocabulary has been an essential ingredient; the distillate of how things are accomplished. Out of its need, grew the absolutely necessary First Constitutional Amendment that ensured freedom of expression. Today, that freedom is an endangered species. An explicit word, once a cornerstone of the experiment, has been banned. The word is: “ETHICS.” As an act of civil disobedience, this commentator will now repeat it:
“ETHICS!” There was a time, at the outset of this people’s democracy, that a code of integrity, honesty and honor, the sum of “ETHICS,” was the key to its continuance. Today, for public officials, politicians and projectors of information essential to governance, ‘ETHICS’ is disallowed and disavowed… and all because it impedes profit at the price of honor. Aided by a corrupt Judiciary, a corporate conspiracy has hooked a Congressional corps of ‘junkies’ on a diet of ‘Weasel-words,’ devoid of any mention of the word: “ETHICS.”
This commentator believes time and circumstance have amply proved it necessary, for a judicious review and revision of the United States Constitution/s all-important “First Amendment,” as it relates to the specific stipulations of “Freedom Of The Press.” To wit: The current rights of certain agents of the news media (both print and electronic) to unrestricted release of information directly related to state and federal electoral processes is a virtual impossibility, when the mechanisms for such activities are owned and controlled by private or corporate proprietors, whose very profits are directly tied to specific electoral outcomes, on which their reports are based.
There are those cynics who will say the key to a return to investigative journalism, unfettered by corporate restraint, is the withdrawal of the political elect from the corporate monetary food chain… a virtual impossibility. The answer to this specific problem, as always, lies in the hands of those who vote. All they need do, to make “ETHICS” a meaningful word in our national vocabulary, again, is to make its return the sole price of the votes they cast, and state their intent to tie those votes directly to the procedural actions of every Congressional Member. It’s time to make “ETHICS” the most meaningful word in the political vocabulary of every State and Federal official. That can’t happen until we, the electorate, send a clear and determined message, that it has again become ours.
“ETHICS!” What a wonderful sound! Say it again, Sam!
The views expressed by commentators are solely those of the authors, and do not reflect the views of this station or its management.