-Caveat Lector- from: http://www.zolatimes.com/V3.7/pageone.html <A HREF="http://www.zolatimes.com/V3.7/pageone.html">Laissez Faire City Times - Volume 3 Issue 7</A> The Laissez Faire City February 15, 1999 - Volume 3, Issue 7 Editor & Chief: Emile Zola ----- Dodge Ball, DC Style by Sunni Maravillosa Bill Clinton, candidate for president: "I smoked marijuana, but I didn’t inhale"… "I didn’t have sex with Gennifer Flowers." Bill Clinton, President: "I didn’t have make sexual advances to Paula Jones"… "I didn’t have sex with Monica Lewinsky"… "I had an ‘inappropriate intimate relationship’ with Ms. Lewinsky, but it wasn’t sexual." Many people seem not to have recognized that Mr. Busy-Trousers has been making these claims with a straight face. He believes the stuff he’s saying, and further, he believes that "any reasonable person" would agree with his tortuous interpretation of what constitutes sexual activity. Clinton is playing a grand round of a well-known game in our nation’s capital, one that knows no seasons, and which always has room for more players: dodge ball. To the dismay of many conservatives, Clinton has consistently dodged the issue of his extramarital sexual habits, dodged the "wag the dog" accusations of his orders to bomb targets in Iraq, and has now successfully dodged a conviction in his impeachment trial. Others appeared equally reluctant for a conviction to happen, and so did dodging of their own with a vigor that’s unusual even in the Den of the Beast. For example, Orrin Hatch called for an end to the trial without a vote, and Robert Byrd conceded that Clinton had committed high crimes and misdemeanors but would not vote to convict him. These evasive actions—those of Republican Hatch in particular—have many people wondering what’s behind these dodges. Rumors of blackmail are beginning to swirl, and while there may be some truth to them, it doesn’t require anything that sinister to make sense of what’s going on. One must remember that this ball game is much older than Clinton’s, er, ball games, and is generally played with one purpose: to avoid being held responsible for something. For example, George Bush is "the president who forgave himself," and Reagan is well known for not knowing what his staff were doing. Dodging responsibility seems to be the favorite game of most elected officials, not just presidents. Who among our lawmakers is willing to take responsibility for the results of his or her actions? Many claim victory when their bills pass the legislature, but this is not the same as being responsible for the law and its consequences. When a teacher gets shot because she isn’t allowed to carry her handgun to work, but her ex-boyfriend—knowing she is most vulnerable there—attacks her on the playground, will those who acted to restrict her fundamental human right of self defense apologize? Will Clinton, Congress, and local lawmakers offer to make reparations for the harm their actions helped make possible? Who among city councils and county boards will accept their share of responsibility when cost overruns on a sports stadium—that the voters rejected but the politicians pushed on them anyway—make a tax increase ‘inevitable’? Social scientists have a phrase that describes what is at work here: diffusion of responsibility. This idea is used primarily to explain how individuals working in group situations—such as a big project—view personal accountability as being lower than when one acts alone, but it applies to the political process as well. Diffusion of responsibility allows all participants in the political process to shift the blame for an action or outcome to someone else. It also enables elected officials and government bureaucracies to avoid the scrutiny that might accompany some of their decisions, and to avoid considering possible consequences of those decisions, as they know they won’t be held directly accountable for the results. This explains why Hatch doesn’t want a vote on the impeachment—a vote would leave a record for constituents to check. Given that the polls indicate that most people believe Clinton is guilty, yet don’t want him impeached, senators would be damned if they voted to impeach, and damned if they voted to acquit. Hatch’s cowardly option allows a way out of this unpleasant situation with no major repercussions. Diffusion of responsibility also works among the public at large. Many individuals seem to feel that "their duty is complete" once they leave the voting booth, and do not make an effort to educate themselves on laws and bills, or to hold elected officials accountable once in office. It’s easy to be cynical about politicians and their promises, but in doing so, citizens act as if their own actions do not matter. People do not feel responsible for what government does, because it no longer seems to be by, of, and for the people. Just as politicians have dodged their responsibility as elected officials, the general populace has dodged its responsibility to hold them accountable. With the layered levels of rules and bureaucracy, it’s easy for government agencies to claim responsibility belongs somewhere else. With numerous lobbyists and other groups clamoring for lawmakers’ attention, it’s easy for individual citizens to conclude they will not be listened to. Both conditions help perpetuate the diffusion of responsibility: few people actually like the political system as it operates now, but even fewer try to do anything about it. One result of this lack of responsibility is that we have a president who will do anything, it seems, except own up to his actions. Another is the creeping encroachment upon the freedoms we have in this country. Despite Congress’ claims to want to protect the Constitution, and in clear contradiction of the oath each member takes to uphold and defend it, one need only look at the shabby treatment the second amendment has received over the years to see how their dodge ball games cost us our liberties. What can be done about the system and our loss of freedom? The mainstream answer for years has been to vote "da bums" out of office, but observant, thoughtful individuals know better than to believe that line. The state and local levels of government are the farm system of political dodge ball—when one player gets booted, another takes his place, and the game continues smoothly. Electoral action, as it currently stands, will not change that. There are signs and portents that people are becoming increasingly aware of that fact, and grow weary of dodge ball as the national pastime. As they become ready for other courses of action, those of us who know what’s at stake need to have appropriate alternatives available. As I don’t like crystal-ball gazing any better than dodge ball, I can’t say what alternatives will be needed. I do know that it is imperative for freedom-loving people to be ready to act, to shrug off those who would try to keep the game going as is. Spreading the blame, refusing to own up to one’s actions, and trying to weasel out of responsibility are hallmarks of immaturity. By failing to hold elected officials accountable for their actions—for allowing them to dodge the responsibility that is theirs as public servants—American voters have "bred" politicians to be the petulant, irresponsible individuals that they are. In this light, Clinton is a purebred politician, and so far, he’s Best of Show. His skill at dodge ball, DC style also puts him at the top of his class, and frankly, I shudder to think that someone might come along and best him. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sunni Maravillosa is a psychology professor, a writer, and the web mistress for the Liberty Round Table. -30- from The Laissez Faire City Times, Vol 3, No 7, Feb. 15, 1999 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Published by Laissez Faire City Netcasting Group, Inc. Copyright 1998 - Trademark Registered with LFC Public Registrar All Rights Reserved Disclaimer The Laissez Faire City Times is a private newspaper. 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