No Principle But Principle

Over these years that I have written, Whitewater has seen two city managers, three chancellors, four district administrators, and dozens upon dozens of other municipal, school district, and university officials.

During this time, this ilk has relied on projects, press releases, committees, and conferences to advance itself at the expense of the community it professes to serve.

And yet, and yet — so many of their number have come and gone, with the well being of individuals and households no better off after so many professions of concern and all that puffery.

Sadly, this beautiful but troubled city is littered with those who took refuge in these things, only to wither and fall away.

And look, and look — committees, conferences, press releases, puffery, offices, titles, selfishness, and self-importance offer no defense against the inexorable withering that truth of principle, reasoning, and of human nature bring.

(Indeed, a collection of people committed to ignoring wrongdoing is often weaker even than a single person so committed; the collective will be just as wrong in principles, but even more vulnerable in description as a horde arrayed against individual regard and individual well being.)

There’s nothing that Hyer Hall, or the Municipal Building, or Central Office can do to make the worse become the better reason, or false arguments become true ones.

Like so many others who’ve chosen wrongly and failed before, some of those now in office will yet try the same feeble maneuvers that brought failure before. Of course they will. For it all, they’ll meet the same disappointments that others have met before.

No principle but principle.