A troubling administration

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/22/AR2005072201727_pf.html *

A friend sent me this link. It is an interesting but somewhat disturbing article. The things alleged to be occurring at Guantamano Bay are disturbing in the least. The many things that look like cover-ups or creative truth making at best that have flowed out of the past four administrations (2 Bush, 2 Clinton) have established a clear pattern of leaderships more interested in getting their ways than in actually doing their job; running the U.S.
The need to hide things from the very people you allege to represent is a disturbing thing. It is even worse that they protests deal solely with army activities...if you read the article, the resolution would not affect CIA operations.
The reason this disturbs me is perhaps subtle...and perhaps not. It is likely to be innacurate, but it has everything to do with the mythology of the United States.
Sure, our history shows many questionable actions. I have covered that numerous times while I have been dropping stuff on this sight. That revelation is nothing new. Nor is my belief that the U.S. is still one of the best behaved countries in history.
Part of the mythology of the United States is the perception of the country as doing the right thing. We play by the rules, we protect the underdog, we catch the bad guys but do it the right way. Never mind the evidence that this happens way less than we would like to admit...it is still how our history is portrayed in school and most history books.
Part of how I, at least, have always regarded the country is as the classic cowboys were presented...wearing all white, riding in on a powerful charger to save the day against all manner of wrong-doers, using our sense of fair play. Not even in desperate times would the good guys stoop to the level of the evil doers. No, they would overcome the wrong by following the rules.
Of course, the educated historian realizes that changed...oh, about the time Washington left office. Possibly before. And it was actually a very short period of time when that could be argued to be how the U.S. operated.
But the public belief and perception has always been different. Look at the popular "drama" shows right now...CSI versions 1 through 500, Veronica Mars, etc...detectives, cops, lawyers who get the bad guys by obeying the rules.
Now we have administration after administration after administration that breaks the rules, hides what they are doing, give every appearance of lawbreaking to get their way...take out the Carter administration (he was a very good man even if a lousy president...I would take a 1000 Carters over one more Clinton or Bush effort) and when is the last legit, honest, above board, play by hte rules administration? The whole Iraq question for Bush, Whitewater for Clinton, some of the allegations of chemical experiments in Desert Storm for Bush Sr., Iran-Contra for Reagan, okay, can't really talk much about Ford...but Nixon/Watergate, Johnson/Vietnam, Kennedy/Cuba...get the picture? This is a problem that crosses the aisle. There are so few clean administrations...
On the one hand, we want to believe we, the U.S., are the good guys and are going to act like it. On the other hand we have the evidence. Rule-breaking is the order of the day.
You know when it will stop? The same time as German aggression stopped in WWII or French aggression stopped in the Napoleonic era or...well, you get the point. When the people stand up and stop the aggressor.
It is way past time for people to stand up and tell our leaders to play by the rules. Yes, attack the bad guys, but do it in open and above board fashion. Sure, that makes it more difficult...that is part of the price you pay to be a good guy. It is harder. But that is what makes it special.
I will continue my 1 person crusade to make a non-party party. People who vote their conscience instead of a party line. Stop giving your money to the people breaking the rules and start using it to promote what you believe in, whatever that may be.
I absolutely hate drugs, all illegal and many legal, for what they do to people. Yet I would rather see someone spend hundreds of thousands trying to get more things legalized than see 1 dollar go towards the alleged campaign of Joe Biden. Every time I see that name, I remember the plagiarism incident. Plagiarism speaks to character a lot. It is not playing by the rules.
And here is the key point; if he would do that in an attempt to get elected, what other rules would he break?
The initial idea for President was to select a few good men and have people choose the ones they thought would do the best job of caretaking the country. Nowadays the idea seems to be to get a few guys who have proved they will stoop to any level to attain and retain office.
Trying to come up with a funny or at least thoughtful line to finish this, but then again, that hardly seems appropriate. In a blog about rulebreakers, why would I follow the rules?