Friday, August 05, 2005
Matter of Conscience
I sometimes wonder what goes through the minds of whistleblowers like Katharine Gunn and special investigators like Patrick Fitzgerald when they find themselves in a historical moment of realization--not unlike, perhaps, that of John Dean, Elliott Richardson, or Lawrence Walsh--where both their official duties and individual conscience impose a thankless burden on them to expose the nefarious monsters created by American society.
According to Classics Revisited author Kenneth Rexroth, there are only two things that truly torment the souls of mankind--amnesia and remembrance. The former, people can achieve on their own; it is the latter we are concerned with. And, despite substantial evidence to the contrary, the chance that we might someday cease to repeat our previous follies because of it--no matter how slim--is arguably worth the trouble. But even absent any hope of redemption, for some, preserving the ability to live with their personal remembrance is a task that must be assumed no matter how unpleasant.
According to Classics Revisited author Kenneth Rexroth, there are only two things that truly torment the souls of mankind--amnesia and remembrance. The former, people can achieve on their own; it is the latter we are concerned with. And, despite substantial evidence to the contrary, the chance that we might someday cease to repeat our previous follies because of it--no matter how slim--is arguably worth the trouble. But even absent any hope of redemption, for some, preserving the ability to live with their personal remembrance is a task that must be assumed no matter how unpleasant.
