The first in a Commentary Series of letters from the
American-based Druid Order, WhiteOak (see the TDN Druid Directory for more
information).
In the spirit of Service and Involvement that is
so much a part of contemporary Druidism, members of The Order of the Whiteoak
have decided to honor a request to present our vision of the World as
it Could Be in response to our understanding of the World as it Is. We
have chosen to do so by addressing some of what we consider the most pressing
national and international concerns of our time in a series of letters
that express our understanding of the problems that exist and our vision
for possible solutions.
The Reinstatement of Truth
One of the prime tenets of all disciplines of contemporary
Druidism is the honor of the virtue of Truth. By our estimation, the viability
of any governing body or political administration must be judged by the
degree of trust that may be placed with the public servants in power.
We live in a time of governance by an administration that places this
sacred tenet in low esteem, and has betrayed the trust of the public it
serves in numerous ways.
In the highest military and civil branches of our government,
there has been the deliberate creation of an atmosphere that encourages
only the reporting of information that supports the political agendas
of the administration in power. Concurrently, information and intelligence
that runs counter to that agenda has been ignored, obfuscated,and buried
under the excuse of national security. Lies, fictions and exaggerations
have been promoted and widely distributed to encourage warfare in Iraq,
then excused as error or as a justifiable means to the administration's
political ends.
The consideration of Truth in the decision making process
is valued only when it supports the political goals of this administration
and its few international allies. To our sorrow, we observe this lack
of honor for the Truth becoming an acceptable habit practiced not only
by those who hold power but by those who seek it, and as an example set
by of our leadership, becoming more prevalent in all areas of our national
public life. This lack of appropriate ethical behavior is evidenced not
only in the promotion of the ongoing war in Iraq, but in the more general
"War on Terrorism", and in policy building in the areas of civil
rights, education, the rebuilding of the economy, and the protection and
stewardship of national and world natural resources and ecological concerns.
A brief list of insults to the ideal of Truth by this administration includes
but is not limited to:
The deliberate use of fraudulent documents presented
publicly by the President, notably in the State of the Union address,
to gather public support for the war in Iraq ...
Gross exaggerations, inaccuracies and misleading statements
presented to the United Nations as fact in the United States' case for
a legitimate war to overthrow the government of Saddam Hussein ...
The administration's continued assertion of unprovable
and unlikely connections between Hussein and Al Qaida ...
The administration's attempts to circumvent the Constitution
with the Patriot Act and the proposed Patriot Act II in an effort to convince
the public that giving up our most precious civil rights would make us
somehow safer...
This administration's refusal to release information
about meetings concerning the establishment of a national energy policy
where representatives of corporations such as Enron and Halliburton were
present as consultants ...
In spite of overwhelming scientific evidence of the damage
still being caused to the environment by ecologically unsound business
practices of major corporations, this administration still ignores the
public interest in favor of increased profits for corporate cronies ...
The use of the slogan "leave no child behind"
as a description of a desperately underfunded and gutted education program
that is instead leaving so many children behind ...
Our vision of the world that could and should be includes
a return to the understanding that as servants of the electorate, the
powers that be are accountable for Truth in all facets of governance.
With the clear understanding that the intelligence community must keep
some state secrets secure, we envision an ethic in force that demands
Truth in the use and gathering of this secure information. We envision
an ethic in force that makes Truth an absolute imperative in the public
administration of our laws and processes. We envision a world in which
the ability to determine and act on and in Truth is a prime factor in
deciding who will be elected to serve. We envision a world in which Truth
is not used by the governing bodies only when it is convenient, and where
lies are not used for expedience in place of the Truth. While it is still
True that in our form of government the authority to govern is still subject
to the will of the People, our vision of the world as it could be includes
higher involvement and an assumption of responsibility for our national
fate by the governed.
The Order of Whiteoak members join with all the other
voices who call for accountability from our current administration on
these breaches of the ethic of Truth. As contemporary followers of the
Druid Path, we function in a society where Druids are no longer institutional
advisors to those in the highest seats of power. We are therefore obliged
to make our voices heard as individuals and from the combined voices of
our Order to help fulfill our ethic of Service to Truth. We stand not
only with other followers of our discipline, but with those who are issuing
this demand from other faiths, as Truth is held as a prime tenet of all
faiths.
We refer you to one of our honored wisdoms from the ancient
Triads of Ireland that resonates with the Truth in all faiths:
"Three ruins of a tribe: a lying chief, a false
judge, a priest fond of refusing."
--- The Triads of Ireland, 96.
The Order of Whiteoak
August 27 2003
Contact: whiteoak [at] ziplip [dot] com
Web: www.whiteoakdruids.org
