From Sunder:

"Certainly power does corrupt, but you've got to think that at one point in their lives before they became G men, they had it in mind that they were doing something good and wholesome in working for Uncle Sam, and protecting Americans and the American Way of Life (as defined by the Declaration of Independance, the Bill of Rights, etc.)" ------------------- They may have had noble motivations and ends in mind, but there are problems: Just because they have sworn to obey and protect doesn't mean they read or actually understood the Declaration, the Constitution, or the Bills. Even if they had Goodness For All in mind when they took up their public roles, it doesn't mean that they would know how these ideas look in action, what the right methods are of applying these principles. They may only have a vague idea of the reason for these documents' creation, of the events surrounding them, or of the reasons and cause for the creation of this new nation. These things, and the concepts in these documents, are not well studied in public schools, and when 'G men' and such others take up their jobs, they are not required to study them thoroughly or demonstrate an understanding of their meaning. Furthermore, there are other influences at work in the minds of people which can affect their translation of these documents - influences like religions which motivate & convince individuals to go beyond the politically allowed boundaries in order to try to make people become "good" against their will, or like philosophies which would provide an interpretation of "propriety" that is counter to what is in these founding documents (as in the pursuit personal happiness). When philosophies and religions (not to mention mental limitations like those exhibited by you-know-who) clash with the political philosophy in the Constitution, and especially when none of these things are well examined, but only vaguely held, there is bound to result all sorts of contradictory distortions in the applications of the lofty ideals. You would think it should be a simple thing to leave others alone and make a valid stand against injustice, but the problems of haphazard education, the lack of serious consideration of these ideals, as well as the other elements mentioned, create complexity and inconsistencies, as well as disrespect, which are difficult to overcome even with the guidance from Wise Men of Old. And nothing can replace an active intelligence and educated sensitivity, important ingredients for maintaining reality in the present, even in a "free" world full of program manuals from the past. .. Blanc