In past decades I looked forward to visiting Washington DC, mostly to see the museums and historic sites. Back in the day, DC brought me good vibes because it reminded me about the genius of the American project and all of the good things the Founders gifted for millions of American people. It was far from perfect, but it was better than what we could see in most other countries and that’s why immigrants clamored to join us.
My attitude has soured over the years based on countless revelations of financial conflicts of interests, not the least of which was Nancy Pelosi’s surreal ability to know when to buy winning stocks, notably semi-conductor chip stocks. I now think of DC as a cesspool of corruption, not as collateral damage but as its defining attribute. I can no longer look at the photos of the iconic DC architecture without thinking these thoughts. I hear corruption whenever I hear about an acquaintance who has accepted a new job in DC. I think about this whenever a new idealistic politician bursts onto the scene–I shrug and assume it’s just a matter of time before their conscience is unburdened by new financial “opportunities.” We have so many examples of politicians who choose personal gain over serving the people that it has ceased to be news. More than ever, the job description of politician is this: non-stop fundraising to hire the best PR machine so one can surf the election cycle to accrue more money and power.
That’s how I see it, more than ever. Until recently, my concern and distress have been focused on the Legislative and Executive branches of government. But now Propublica has dropped this bomb about the financial fortunes of Clarence Thomas. Follow the full tweet-thread if you dare.
What do you think? Could this lifestyle possibly influence one’s judicial mindset? In how many ways could it scramble one’s mind and conscience to ride this private gravy-train for years while purporting to serve the public? I wish Propublica had the bandwidth to run deep investigations into the financial and social ties of ALL of our federal judges, as well as all of our federal representatives. I’d like to know this as a mere curiosity, as the U.S. continues its slide toward third world status.
Photos by Erich Vieth
