If you don’t know all of the names, please follow the links – interesting that all have cause to fear the digital age….
What do Anthony Weiner, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Bashar Assad and Robert Mugabe all have in common?
Power abuse. Plain and simple.
Add to that list Eliot Spitzer, Hosni Mubarak, Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic, the Taliban and Al Qaeda, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bernie Madoff and a host of other abusers on every continent, in every country, even in every city…I would imagine.
Here we are in a world connected – like it’s never been connected before – with technology that has the potential to solve problems and save lives…not just kill bigger and better…and yet it’s like we have learned nothing.
What is truly amazing is that in the digital age it seems to have gotten worse – or maybe it’s just that we hear about it quicker and more globally.
Or maybe folks think that the digital that empowers all of us – empowers them a bit more.
But here’s the thing – in the globally connected digital world it takes but a few clicks to find that a former New York State governor and a former World Bank president used the same call girl service – talk about a small world….
Bottom line – the truth is and maybe even the good news is – that at the end of the day digital media might have finally democratized the world – even if we haven’t figured it out yet.
So while some may plot to kill and others to show their “wares” – while the vast majority are happy to shop and share – we are all part of, and vulnerable to, the same basic digital pathways.
All of which reminded me of an old proverb I heard many years ago…listen:
“Once the game is over, the king and the pawn go back in the same box.” Italian Proverb
And there you have it – to my mind the true beauty of the Internet.
King or pawn – we all have the same ultimate accountability – as we always should have – but in today’s world – it can be tracked and traced….
Think about that, Anthony and Dom….
What’s your view?
Interesting, read this book and you might imagine how the concept could be pushed further:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Light-Other-Days-Arthur-Clarke/dp/0006483747
First : I love the proverb !
Second : Yes …some people do abuse their powers ! and repeatedly…When I though it could only happen in certain parts of the world a Strauss-kahn and Weiner shows up…
No one should be left unaccountable !
No one should feel threatened and abused by those in power…as absolute power corrupts !
and Everyone should know and remember that we are all equally empowered in this digital age …
The ancient Greeks had one simple word for this: Hubris. Wikipedia defines it as “extreme haughtiness, pride or arrogance…. Hubris often indicates a loss of contact with reality and an overestimation of one’s own competence or capabilities, especially when the person exhibiting it is in a position of power.” Wikipedia continues: Hubris …” had a strong sexual connotation, and the shame reflected on the perpetrator as well. It was most evident in the public and private actions of the powerful and rich. The word was also used to describe actions of those who challenged the gods or their laws, especially in Greek tragedy, resulting in the protagonist’s fall.”
A classic example was the story of Icarus. He tried to escape from Crete by means of wings that his father constructed from feathers and wax. Feeling giddy while in flight, he ignored his father’s instructions not to fly too close to the sun, and the melting wax caused him to fall to his death.
Not only does the digital age do a good job of helping to expose the behavior of power abusers it also exposes all sorts of unsavory activities by individuals who think they are safe in cyberspace. From the crooked accountant to the fame seeking drunken celebrity, all have mistakenly thought that actions performed in cyberspace will not be revealed. Does this false sense of security lull people into revealing their true selves online?Accountability/responsibility is a trait easily forgotten by someone who doesn’t hold it dear – so is it fair to say that your online activities are a window into your soul?
The Proverb captures the essence of the “day” which could be any day going back to the Roman Times or fast forward to today’s politics or financial antics!
I think your conclusion on accountability really hits the nail on the head. I doubt that power abuse happens any more frequently now than it has in the past (add John Edwards to the list too), but the transformative nature of the digital age has resulted in increased accountability. Effortless information flow means fewer barriers, which means containment is harder. If containment of information is harder, it requires more accountability.
This can be good or bad (Wikileaks is an example of both), but it mandates higher ethical standards, and means people, organizations, brands, and governments must proactively make ethical decisions, and be forthcoming and liable when mistakes are made, because sometimes the cover-up is worse than the misdeed itself.
In my view, the abuses of Anthony Weiner, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Eliot Spitzer don’t belong in the same article with those of Bashar Assad, Robert Mugabe, Hosni Mubarak, Radovan Karadzic, Ratko Mladic, the Taliban and Al Qaeda.
I agree with G. Benson. While they’re all scoundrels, the cheats and the murderers are different degrees of “rotten”.
Glad you’ve included Mugabe. He doesn’t get the degree of the world’s attention needed to oust him. In the end it may be his old age and the passage of time that get the job done while his nation suffers unspeakably.
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