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August 2nd, 1998. "Positions of Power." During the aristocratical times of the past, inheritable rights gave to an easily definable group a choke hold on positions of power. Back then, people did not arrive at positions of power and authority purely because they have consistently, through a long period of time, shown a high level of knowledge, competence, honesty and integrity. And it should not be imagined that our elective process turn up such people either. Our elective process favours career politicians who climb their pinnacles by factious eloquence. As for the appointments made by the elected representatives or a cabel of them: We all know that there are too many people who owe their positions of power to their political connections. And while political connections (we see signs and we may continue to hope) are not as important as once they were; more and more people are given preference by "virtue" of their degree of connection to a "minority" or to a "historically disadvantaged" group. (The connection extends to beyond that as being a member of the marked group, to those who represent they can help the "marked group.") I leave it up to the reader to determine whether this is a progressive or a regressive step, but whatever it is, it is not a step in keeping with the original liberal view that only the best be promoted to positions of power. [Top] [Archives] [To Blupete's Essays] [Thoughts & Quotes of blupete] [Home] Peter Landry August, 1998 (2019)