In life, accountability for our actions is a necessity and one which directly affects the way we act in any given situation or when presented with any problem. This goes for every one of us and must be a truth under which our elected officials are likewise subject to if we wish for them not to abuse their power while propelling this country in a direction that is beneficial for us all. By the actions of others, predetermined consequential problems may arise, this is true, yet what it does not do is negate us from our personal responsibility when handling these problems, especially when we are in a position to rectify the issues.
Let us for a moment suppose we are hired by a company to take on a task, which the previous employee of the very same position had left in a less than desirable state. The company has let the previous employee go and we have been determined by a vetting process as having the abilities to fill the vacant spot for the purposes of fixing the situation while still furthering the company. Would the company not hold us liable for the decisions we make while occupying that position? Perhaps a different level of responsibility would be placed upon us, let us grant that, but it would be our responsibility from the moment of hiring nonetheless and any arguments concerning the previous employee’s decision making would not grant us too much extra leeway. For even if there is extra responsibility placed on us by the previous employee, we have already been vetted and determined by the management to have the ability to rectify the situation after our resume was juxtaposed with all other applicants. It could still be said that if we are given extra freedom in our position due to the mistakes of the previous employee, such explanations will ring hollow after a short time and in depth examination is still, not only justified, but it could also be argued that it is much more important as determined by the contractual obligations of the position itself, which we ourselves had applied for. In this illustration, it is obviously easy to substitute Bush as the previous employee, Obama as the present employee, and the American public as the management, while still having it all ring true.
Yet, that is not what we are hearing from some. Quite the adverse is being said and various people charge that we are not justified in passing any judgment on Obama due to the previous administrations decisions. Let us consider this true for a quick moment. What does it mean? It means the position has not really been filled, for enough power or fortitude has not been introduced to rectify the previous state, so the applicant remains ineffective. This, of course, is no more an enviable position to be in than the one who is being held to account and to say this fact somehow pacifies the need to be held presently accountable is somewhat of a delusion or misrepresentation of the facts.
Despite all this being said, it is true that presidencies are judged from a historical perspective and immediate decisions are best represented after a progression of time, for it is only after something takes full effect that its true effects can be known. We see this represented in even our own lives and coming from whatever perspective these effects can be changed if one only narrow or broaden the degree of focus. Yet, is this to say we can only judge a person’s decisions based on eventual outcome? If we indeed did this then we could not judge anyone in an immediate instance of what we have determined as being right or wrong, or indeed put any kind of ethical value on it whatsoever. Let us put it into practice and supposed a man running late for work decides to run a red light and does so successfully without anyone being hurt by the outcome. Indeed, let us say after the progression of time and broadening of perspective, he gets to work on time and we see there was only benefit in his actions and not any negative consequence. Therefore, a traffic cop who sees the traffic violation in the immediate is not justified in pulling him over. I think most people would agree it is unrealistic to judge strictly on outcome when applied in this, and many, situations.
This is the real question we need to pose to ourselves: Where can value and judgment on decision be placed? This is a highly debated question and one I think we can see representing itself in pop opinion and news coverage of the Obama presidency thus far. First, as already touched upon, some think the value in decision only lies in the outcome the decision produces. I hope I have already illustrated how unreliable the theory is. The second is that the value in decision only lies in its immediate empirical effects. Lastly, it is thought the value in decision is dependent on the will behind it. It is the last one I feel contains the most value and should be judged accordingly and it is this view upon which we build our system of law and ethics. This is not to say empirical effects are not taken into account, for this would be delusional as well, but rather effect serves as the evidence of the will which is in question.
I would like to demonstrate this point by using another illustration. Let us shift our focus from these values of decision and move to values of aesthetic expression. Where are true aesthetical values placed? Is it in the product of aesthetic desire or is it within the action itself? True aesthetic value is not solely manifest in the final object and how can it be, for aesthetics is a concept generated by human thought and not by any mere empirical object.
Let us suppose then that an individual wishes to create a work of art. The man within his studio then proceeds to splatter paint randomly upon a canvas, as in a nature in tune with the current conception of modern art. This act, henceforth, can be labeled as his aesthetic expression, but again it is not in this act where aesthetical value lies. Furthermore, let us take an example from what is empirical and confer it with the justified truth thereof, which shows us no object can be propelled forward through time and space without some applying force. To apply this with the aforementioned aesthetic example, it’s not the act, but rather, in that which propels the act, where the true value of artistic or aesthetic expression lies in terms of the expressions creator.
Therefore, it can be asserted that the real value lies within the motive and the will, which is personal in nature and this is why we hold people individually to account for their actions. So, what assigns something an aesthetical value is the cause behind which it is created. The value can be changed by those who view it, who subjectively project their aesthetical evaluation upon the manifestation of the artist’s basal motive. Therefore, this illustration also provides us a way to explain the justification in both praise and negative judgments towards our elected officials for they are projections of our own bias and motive. What we find pleasing in people, or in art, are those things we can identify with and in which we see ourselves or our desires.
Yet, to determine what the self, in an external observance of aesthetic products, considers truly aesthetical and how we assigns values to such, is a much bigger issue and one more difficult to reconcile without some underlying postulation, but such inquiries would detract from the issue which I am trying to address: The justification in judging Obama in his decision making and the will behind the decisions. By these illustrations we see there is, not only a necessity of current judgments, but also of immediate results which can be determined as evidence of those motives. So for one to say a person is not justified in passing judgment on Obama or his decisions is absurd. In fact, one could not even begin to praise him at all, if one cannot negatively judge him, for this would be an inherent contradiction. If one says that we must wait on passing judgment, then this simply means no exhortation of his presidency in its current state is justified either.
This raises another issue, for one could not make such a supposition without considering its resolution. When would be the appropriate time for judgment? I have heard everything from 1 to 3 years, but to say this, one would have to admit that perhaps the financial collapse wasn’t a bad thing at all, or perhaps the Iraq war could be a good thing, or whatever, for no true line in the sand can be drawn concerning when to judge. Truth is, one could always claim not enough time has passed for one to gain full perspective on an issue and if this is the case, nobody would ever be justified in any praise or in any negative judgments. That is, if the stock market rises, Obama could take no more credit than could Bush, Clinton or Reagan. Most Obama supporters would find such a conclusion unacceptable, but it is the conclusion that is reached if one supposes that judgments could not be made till an eventual outcome is reached.
It is the will that is most important when judging, and it is this which propels both immediate and eventual effects. Since this is indeed the source of the decision, anyone is completely justified in the values they place on Obama’s decisions. I was watching O’Reilly last week and he had mentioned it was only what he did that mattered and not the will behind it, but I could not disagree with him more. It is the will behind it that matters, for if it wasn’t, the subsequent action wouldn’t even exist at all in its present form, nor could it be molded to a will and would probably even cease to exist if completely independent from it. This will is the first cause of the effect when it comes to decision and it is this conclusion which is the most reliable when judging either decision, or action.
I would assert this very argument, that nothing can be judged till it reaches full effect, is representational of an unease which is contrary to the individual’s bias (I use “bias” here not as something horrible, but rather an inevitability of the human condition). That is, if an Obama supporter feels conflicted or disagrees with a decision, they can still vindicate themselves by saying they cannot pass judgment on it yet lest it contradict with their predetermined view on Obama. It is a means of pacification, but in my view, or in my bias, not realistic. Judgments are based on will and immediate evidence all the time. To say there is no justification in this puts government officials in a place beyond the normal human condition, which they are bound to and which are a necessary, important element in how they govern. Thus I reach the conclusion that those who judge now are not only justified, but it should also be encouraged, for it is a means of communication to those in power that they will be held accountable for their decisions. To base judgments on a future that has not occurred can neither produce an empirical negative or positive result, but it is always dependent on a subjective bias and not the immediate evidence of the will which the will is bound to produce.
No comments:
Post a Comment