… But who’s gonna pay the cost?

“Authority means being in charge” and respecting authority means “[f]ollowing instructions”, “[o]beying laws” and “[b]eing polite”. So says a Standard 1 social studies textbook, which has no corresponding section indicating what is to be expected from those in authority. I expect that’s the whole point of the lesson, which also identifies persons in authority (principal, parents, teacher and Prime Minister) without identifying their responsibilities: Children should obey authority figures unquestioningly.

As should the rest of us, by extension.

But here’s the thing: Authority does not exist in a vacuum. People vest power and authority in individuals and organisations so they can fulfil their responsibilities. We give them the authority so that they may serve in our best interests. A principal is in charge of a school, but he/she, in turn, must use that authority to ensure that the students have a safe and appropriate learning environment. Parents have authority over their children in order to care for them. Teachers are responsible for imparting education and a Prime Minister is responsible for stewarding the well-being of an entire nation.

So why do individuals and organisations in authority often seem to think that said authority (which, again, has been granted to them by the people they serve) entitles them to avoid accountability?

Last week, T&T learned that an authority figure in the TT Police Service, the organisation tasked with enforcing public health ordinances during a pandemic, is under investigation for allegedly holding a yacht party in violation of those same ordinances. Reportedly, he also refused to comply with orders from the TTPS’ riverine unit and the Coast Guard when he was caught in the (alleged) act.

What I found particularly interesting about this revelation is how quiet the TTPS has been about it. While the investigation is obviously ongoing, I can’t help but contrast the relative silence that led up to this week’s news story with the way the organisation tends to handle other similar allegations, from posting images of suspects once charges are laid (depending on the suspects, that is) to sharing actual footage of arrests/detentions.

Given his boss’ declarations about holding the TTPS to a higher standard, I’d think their social media account would want to be as enthusiastic about its promotion of this investigation as any other, no?

Meanwhile in Haiti, where the people are still reeling from the unsolved assassination of their president, yet another major earthquake hit last weekend. More than 2,000 people died, more than 12,000 people were injured, more than 100,000 homes were damaged or destroyed and… the media immediately returned to the familiar refrain of “the poorest country in the America” while reporting on the struggle to get aid to those who need it. What the media hasn’t yet gotten around to doing is asking France when it’s going to start repaying the $20+ BILLION it still owes Haiti from that time when it extorted them for having the nerve to abolish slavery.

That cash might come in handy for a nation that never managed to fully recover from the last devastating earthquake (not to mention the hurricanes in between) and remains at the mercy of other nations that are happy to continue (profitably) punishing them for standing up for themselves while also pretending not to understand their current predicament. And then there’s that pesky pandemic.

Over in Afghanistan, the US is in the process of ending the lengthy and incredibly controversial invasion triggered by the infamous 9/11 terrorist attacks, resulting in the collapse of the Afghan government, which left a power vacuum into which the Taliban has quickly moved. This, after almost 20 years, trillions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of Afghan injuries and deaths. Despite Taliban promises to “live and let live“, countless Afghan citizens, particularly women, ethnic minorities and those at the forefront of cultural change, are obviously now living in terror of what their rule will bring.

After having the hubris to declare that this very thing wouldn’t happen just over a month before it did happen, US President Joe Biden is now laying the blame for this chaos at the feet of the Afghan government (which, to be fair, did immediately flee and leave its people) and his predecessors. This despite the fact that Biden himself voted in favour of the invasion before eventually opposing additional troops.

Discussion of what exactly is to be done for the Afghan refugees is currently underway. As if it’s not obvious that the responsibility for what happens to them rests with the nation that occupied Afghanistan for nearly two decades and then abruptly withdrew, leaving them at the mercy of the militants they were there to fight.

Given all of the above, and against a backdrop of a global emergency that has been consistently mishandled by those who claim the authority to essentially rule the world, I have to wonder how much longer we’re going to go before we actually require accountability in exchange for the authority we’re giving away.

Locally, regionally and internationally, we’re watching individuals, organisations and nations publicly prove that they lack the moral authority to wield the power they hold, and yet we’re spending our time fighting over the credibility of proven scientific facts.

Just like they want us to.