| About The Whiteoak Org Anniversary Message of Peace From 2002 Bush Admin Ethical Critique 1/20/03 The Reinstatement of Truth 8/27/03 |
Order of Whiteoak ( Ord Na Darach Gile ) A Druidic Vision of the World ... A Commentary Series Order of Whiteoak (Ord na Darach Gile) Contact: Whiteoak@ziplip.com Web: http://www.geocities.com/ordnadarachgile In the spirit of Service and Involvement that is so much a part of contemporary Druidism, members of The Order of the Whiteoak have decided to honor a request to present our vision of the World as it Could Be in response to our understanding of the World as it Is. We have chosen to do so by addressing some of what we consider the most pressing national and international concerns of our time in a series of letters that express our understanding of the problems that exist and our vision for possible solutions. The following is the first of these letters. __________________________________ ( Date of issue here...) The Reinstatement of Truth One of the prime tenets of all disciplines of contemporary Druidism is the honor of the virtue of Truth. By our estimation, the viability of any governing body or political administration must be judged by the degree of trust that may be placed with the public servants in power. We live in a time of governance by an administration that places this sacred tenet in low esteem, and has betrayed the trust of the public it serves in numerous ways. In the highest military and civil branches of our government, there has been the deliberate creation of an atmosphere that encourages only the reporting of information that supports the political agendas of the administration in power. Concurrently, information and intelligence that runs counter to that agenda has been ignored, obfuscated,and buried under the excuse of national security. Lies, fictions and exaggerations have been promoted and widely distributed to encourage warfare in Iraq, then excused as error or as a justifiable means to the administration's political ends. The consideration of Truth in the decision making process is valued only when it supports the political goals of this administration and its few international allies. To our sorrow, we observe this lack of honor for the Truth becoming an acceptable habit practiced not only by those who hold power but by those who seek it, and as an example set by of our leadership, becoming more prevalent in all areas of our national public life. This lack of appropriate ethical behavior is evidenced not only in the promotion of the ongoing war in Iraq, but in the more general "War on Terrorism", and in policy building in the areas of civil rights, education, the rebuilding of the economy, and the protection and stewardship of national and world natural resources and ecological concerns. A brief list of insults to the ideal of Truth by this administration includes but is not limited to: The deliberate use of fraudulent documents presented publicly by the President, notably in the State of the Union address, to gather public support for the war in Iraq ... Gross exaggerations, inaccuracies and misleading statements presented to the United Nations as fact in the United States' case for a legitimate war to overthrow the government of Saddam Hussein ... The administration's continued assertion of unprovable and unlikely connections between Hussein and Al Qaida ... The administration's attempts to circumvent the Constitution with the Patriot Act and the proposed Patriot Act II in an effort to convince the public that giving up our most precious civil rights would make us somehow safer... This administration's refusal to release information about meetings concerning the establishment of a national energy policy where representatives of corporations such as Enron and Halliburton were present as consultants ... In spite of overwhelming scientific evidence of the damage still being caused to the environment by ecologically unsound business practices of major corporations, this administration still ignores the public interest in favor of increased profits for corporate cronies ... The use of the slogan "leave no child behind" as a description of a desperately underfunded and gutted education program that is instead leaving so many children behind ... Our vision of the world that could and should be includes a return to the understanding that as servants of the electorate, the powers that be are accountable for Truth in all facets of governance. With the clear understanding that the intelligence community must keep some state secrets secure, we envision an ethic in force that demands Truth in the use and gathering of this secure information. We envision an ethic in force that makes Truth an absolute imperative in the public administration of our laws and processes. We envision a world in which the ability to determine and act on and in Truth is a prime factor in deciding who will be elected to serve. We envision a world in which Truth is not used by the governing bodies only when it is convenient, and where lies are not used for expedience in place of the Truth. While it is still True that in our form of government the authority to govern is still subject to the will of the People, our vision of the world as it could be includes higher involvement and an assumption of responsibility for our national fate by the governed. The Order of Whiteoak members join with all the other voices who call for accountability from our current administration on these breaches of the ethic of Truth. As contemporary followers of the Druid Path, we function in a society where Druids are no longer institutional advisors to those in the highest seats of power. We are therefore obliged to make our voices heard as individuals and from the combined voices of our Order to help fulfill our ethic of Service to Truth. We stand not only with other followers of our discipline, but with those who are issuing this demand from other faiths, as Truth is held as a prime tenet of all faiths. We refer you to one of our honored wisdoms from the ancient Triads of Ireland that resonates with the Truth in all faiths: "Three ruins of a tribe: a lying chief, a false judge, a priest fond of refusing." --- The Triads of Ireland, 96. The Order of Whiteoak Permission is granted to repost as long as nothing is altered or removed. |
