Secrets

Write about secrets

     Secrets only have power when they hide in the shadows. Exposed to light and truth they wither, fade and  blow away like dust. Darkness camouflage, confuse and confound the task to tease the threads back to the origins, back to the source. Like poison ivy, we may not feel the sting immediately, as we brush away in-nocuous rumours but these contacts may fester and return to haunt us like the seven year itch.

     Secrets erode  trust, poison intimacy and encourage addictions. I have counseled  many addicts who use substance abuse, gambling,  sex, and eating to avoid transparency. Secrets have a charge that feels exciting but drains our batteries. Like a pebble in our shoe we are aware there is  something wrong,  bothering our conscience but we often cannot find the words or the courage to explore the darkness, find our way back to the light.

      As a society we need to expose not only the dirty old men but the politicians who use paternalism, lobbyists  and corruption.  According to Wikipedia…

     Political corruption is the use of power by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by private persons or corporations not directly involved with the government. An illegal act by an officeholder constitutes political corruption only if the act is directly related to their official duties, is done under color of law or involves trading in influence.

     Forms of corruption vary, but include bribery, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, patronage, graft, and embezzlement. Corruption may facilitate criminal enterprise such as drug trafficking, money laundering, and human trafficking, though is not restricted to these activities.

     The activities that constitute illegal corruption differ depending on the country or jurisdiction. For instance, some political funding practices that are legal in one place may be illegal in another. In some cases, government officials have broad or ill-defined powers, which make it difficult to distinguish between legal and illegal actions. Worldwide, bribery alone is estimated to involve over 1 trillion US dollars annually.^[1] A state of unrestrained political corruption is known as a kleptocracy, literally meaning "rule by thieves".

     When I was in Costa Rica five years ago I was delighted to hear their president had been jailed for  a year by accepting a bribe for an inferior cell phone infrastructure. A previous political figure was also jailed for a similar crime. When are we going to point the finger of shame at our beauracracies in Canada and the US who make  many deals behind closed doors that directly affect of our futures. We need more transparency and less secret deals.