SO WHY IS TRANSPARENCY IMPORTANT? ASK THE GOVERNMENT OF JAPAN?

When we natter on today, especially during elections full of promises and testimonials, about trustworthy government, “transparency” seems such an important word with a significant meaning to all that is democratic.....and the guarantee we will all be able to see and appreciate first hand, what our government is up to on an hour by hour basis.

Now every time I hear or read about transparency, and its good graces toward newly restored and invigorated democracy, I just can’t help thinking about Japan and nuclear power plants. It seems their concept of transparency isn’t the textbook definition......or at least the definition that makes us contented here in Canada, we’re not going to suffer from radiation poisoning in some form or other.

As an ever-questioning newshound, I knew from the beginning, getting the truth from the respective sources responsible for the nuclear plant in crisis, would be a shred of what reality actually prevails. I wrote about it shortly after the earthquake and tsunami. I had a bad feeling about the power company, responsible for the plant, and some genuine concern the government would not be eager to tell the world it was operating a tsunami-vulnerable nuclear site. So to add further risk to a devastated population, trying to survive the aftermath of an horrific natural disaster, both the power company and the government, in my opinion, began minimizing the significance of the crisis.....when in fact they should have increased the evacuation zone to double what they declared.

They were reluctant to ask for help from those nations, with abundant talent and resources in the nuclear industry. Even evacuating citizens from the crisis area seemed latent and far too limited to protect the population from radiation exposure. As for transparency? And here’s the danger of not being transparent. The nuclear disaster is well on its way to becoming a major world event that will imprint seriously in history.....not because it was part of a wicked natural disaster but because of the profound failure to admit mistakes, safety design shortfalls, and to seek immediate assistance after the tsunami struck. They have seriously injured the planet and its population, by a chain of failures and cover-up that shows a complete disregard for transparency......although they will, even at this stage, beg to differ. In their collective opinion, or so it seems from here to there, they couldn’t have been more transparent. And while they’re still minimizing the extent of the disaster, at the very least, the nuclear watchdogs have intervened and are giving us a better understanding of the crisis yet to come.

I feel awfully sorry for the poor bastards who have been working in that shambles of a power plant, to help save us all, risking their lives on behalf of a government still readily telling porkies to avoid panic. I think it’s a democratic right to panic if you want to! I certainly think the first step now, without what the world has been watching on the nightly news, is to let us have the complete information, not the sanitized version of current events they’ve been fobbing-off for weeks. The fact we are finding low levels of radiation, on the eastern seaboard of the United States, and that, at least for awhile, some folks downwind have been advised to use powdered milk instead,.... and to avoid leafy vegetables and berries for awhile, is the kind of stark, unsettling fallout, in genuine panic-raising form, that always comes on the heals of such a major misrepresentation of catastrophe. Transparency. Only when cost efficient, part of the public relations protocol, or in the government’s best interests. Well, it also frequently backfires. Then there’s the quickly adopted policy of “apology heals all!” This is what happens when governments decides what we should know, what’s best left unsaid, and what our poor feeble minds can handle.

If I harp at issues of transparency, as bandied about with great luxury and confidence, by our elected, and soon-to-be elected officials, it’s because of examples like nuclear plant disaster “fudging” and “minimization” of actuality. While most elected officials will swear an oath of allegiance to the goodness of “transparency,” it doesn’t take long in office before politicians are being swayed by others, to conceal information for our best interests. I understand that some information must, by law, remain confidential. Much other relevant information is often deemed too revealing and sensitive to government operation, because it would cause an adverse response from citizens......and they simply don’t want to deal with the crumple of angry ratepayers jammed into the council chambers, for the very next meeting. We have seen this many times before at the local level, where a municipal government has decided to purposely avoid public scrutiny because it would get in the way of project initiation and negotiations. We find this at every level of government, and if you’ve been following the federal election campaign, so far, transparency fogging is the biggest deal going. Usually they wait until they get into office. Now they don’t care how they muddy the water.....just that it is muddy enough to confuse the snot out of those trying to sort out which story is more truthful than the other.

I have never......not once in my life, had to plead to family, friends or work associates, that “you can trust me.” When someone says to me, “I know I can trust you,” I am immediately offended. I will walk away from a salesperson who suggests to me, “You can trust me to give you a fair deal!” Seeing as I was brought up to be honest and trustworthy, (God bless my mother for instilling this as a characteristic of honor), I have only one opinion of trust. I follow it! I expect those I’m dealing with to understand this from the onset of our acutely honest relationship. If a salesperson has to bring “trust” and “worthiness” into the discussion, I can only think then, that this particular gem of “trust” bestowed on me, isn’t something generally passed on to customers.....rather a special blip for a special guy like me. To tell me “I trust you,” is an audible and ignorant fart, because nothing turns me off faster, than to be informed my character was in doubt in the first place. If I didn’t have to say it to them, they shouldn’t have said it to me. We can think and decide what we want, but trust is a feeling of security best left unspoken. Not something to debate in person. I have never minded being scrutinized because I live a transparent life. Read my blogs. All my columns. It has nearly caused divorce and family alienation but no one will be misled about our family activities and values. There’s great liberation in honesty......without having to be a nudist....not that there’s anything wrong with nudity!

Trusting us with information is what this is all about. And while the government of Japan decided, early on, what amount of trust we could all handle in this global village, with faulty logic, now it’s out of their control and containment......the radiation and information free for us to consume. I’m pretty sure the Japanese population will be as outraged as the rest of the world, on the extreme liberties taken regarding freedom of information.......that just might have saved lives, and reduced some of the damage this radiation spewing nightmare will cause to mother earth. It is our business. It is our welfare. It has been placed at risk because of a lack of transparency.....on purpose.

So the next time you hear a politician bandy about the words “trust,” “fair,” “honesty,” and “transparency,” think about the definition of each, and what we should demand from those who recklessly, habitually and conveniently slap-down proclamations without conscience, or fear of consequence......but rather with that tell-tale hollow ring that should resonate in all of us, the reason to proceed with suspicion.....carry on with caution, and get a second and third opinion on the same issue.

It is so terribly tragic for the good people of Japan. They will be the first souls to deal harshly with their less than transparent governance. They we’ll have a go at them!

The wind is blowing across the Pacific. Right at us! And what a foul wind it could be! Transparency is critical. Will we get it from our governments? It’s up to us to insist!