Can they possibly all be held accountable?
by digby
This Freeh report (pdf) on the Penn State pedophile scandal is brutal. I wonder how many more of our revered institutions will one day be characterized in this way:
The most saddening finding by the Special Investigative Counsel is the total and consistent disregard by the most senior leaders at Penn State for the safety and welfare of Sandusky’s child victims. . . .
Seriously, how many of these have we heard about the Catholic Church over the past few years. WTH?
I can’t say it any better than Peterr at FDL says it here:
In the days ahead, hands will be wrung and chests will be beaten. But if you’re looking for signs of a culture that lacks accountability, watch and listen for the widespread and abundant use of the passive voice. “Mistakes were made. . . . Policies were not followed . . . ” Yes, mistakes were made — and they were made by real people. Yes, policies were not followed — they were not followed by real people. Unless and until the climate of non-accountability disappears, abusers will continue their abusive ways.
Child abusers will do it, and the price will be paid by children, their families, and their communities.
Unscrupulous mine owners will do it, and the price will be paid by their workers, their families, and their communities.
Mortgage and financial industry abusers will do it, and the price will be paid by homeowners, their families, their communities, as well as investors and the broader economy as a whole.
The energy industry will do it, as will the health insurance industry, the military, and anyone else who puts protecting their own power ahead of doing what’s right. The MOTUs of all stripes will continue in their ways, unless and until accountability comes raining in on their parades.
Bill Black regularly bemoans “regulatory capture,” by which he means that the ostensible overseers have become the partners and servants of those they are supposed to be watching over. Penn State is learning the hard way about what happens when accountability returns home after a long absence. Good.
Now if only the SEC, the Fed, the DOJ, the bishops and cardinals of Roman Catholic church, and others in authority would learn that same lesson, because there’s an urgent need for climate change when it comes to accountability that stretches well beyond University Park, Pennsylvania.
I’m honestly not sure if “accountability” is the way to think about this. Look at the Catholic hierarchy. Are they humbled? I don’t think so. Did Enron teach anyone anything? It doesn’tlook like it. Abramoff et al? This goes deeper than just getting away with it and having to be brought to account. That doesn’t seem to matter all that much in the greater scheme of things.
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