Political Crossfire Forums

[Jimz]

Resposibility and accountability. Does anyone understand the meaning of those words? Does anyone care? Are those words relevant to the everyday life of very many people in contemporary society? Pick up a newspaper. Turn on the T.V. or radio news. Check online sites. The number of people in all walks of life making headlines as a result of having engaged in clearly inappropriate, anti-social, disruptive, and illegal activity who then attempt to quickly distance themselves from the product of their actions without acknowldeging any culpability for the cause and effect of thos actions, dominates the headlines. A recent newspaper banner described the weasely actions of former and current Hewlitt-Packard executives while giving testimony before the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee as follows: "HP Execs On Spying: It Wasn't Me." Despite there being no factual issue about HP having improperly and illegally spied on past and present employees without their knowledge and in contravention of their rights and liberties, no one took the blame. No one admitted responsibility for a spying fiasco that threatens the computer giant's once-vaunted reputation, and exposes it to legal liability. Incredibly and incredulously, former Chairman, Patricia Dunn, who was involved with the illicit program early and ran it at a high level, insisted that she was culpable only of trusting theretofore well-respected subordinates, and then uttered the classic, though truly unbelievable sentence "...I do not accept personal responsibility for what happened." In what way did she trust her subordinates? Was it to conduct the invasive program in a quiet and efficient manner such they their actions would not be discovered and exposed? As the former Corporate Chairman who approved, instituted, and monitored the spying efforts and determined policy based on their results, in what possible credible sense of the word "responsibility" could she testify to anyone under any circumstances that she refused to acknowledge the obvious; namely that she wallowed in the muck of the scandel up to her eyeballs? Why is it so hard for her or anyone else to make that simple admission and face what should be the consequences?

ThotsNRamblins

[agentkgb]

I'm not really sure why this is surprising. Why would anyone want to take the blame?

[Fido]

Not a reflection; a microcosm. What wouldn't anyone of us not do to have those buck or keep them. They are just like us, only more so, and less so!