Viktor Yanukovych, Yulia Tymoshenko, and the Corruption of Power

Lord Acton (1834-1902) was the first person to say that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.  He was an English politician and historian.  He was also an observant man, though not always a wise one.  He considered America’s Federalism the best guarantee of personal freedom and liberty, but then took this laudable idea a step too far by supporting the Confederacy.  He placed the South’s elevation of states’ rights above the human rights issue of slavery.  Clearly, Lord Acton was on the wrong side of not just history, but justice, God and basic humanity on that one.  Yet, he still was spot on when he coined that phrase about power and its inexorable march toward corruption.  

You can not have power without abuse.  Any person, even a very good person, will eventually succumb to the subtle corrupting influence of power.  Anyone seeking the ring of power ends up like Smeagol—eating raw fish with their bare hands and saying, “Gollum, Gollum” in a nasty guttural voice. If you don’t believe me, just look at Maxine Waters. 

Part of the genius of our Constitution is the checks and balances of power it places on the federal government.  The corrupting influence of power is one reason we wisely limit our Presidents to two terms.  If I had my way, we would limit Congressmen to six years and Senators to twelve for the same reasons.  But that is a subject for another day.  

What puts me in mind of the corrupting influence of power is what is happening in the Ukraine.  Viktor Yanukovych, erstwhile President of the Ukraine, has been ousted due to abuse of power.  But the tentative winner in this East European struggle, Yulia Tymoshenko doesn’t have a record of impartial judgment either.  Both of these people are classic examples of what you get with communist governments.  Power is seated in the bureaucracy.  The pencil pushers memorize the governmental catechism, ruthlessly enforce the company line and rise in power.  It is always about power, never about efficiency, effectiveness or innovation. 

What has been happening in Ukraine is an ideologically confusing walk in the weeds, made more difficult by sesquipedalian last names.  The short version is that the people are sick of crappy government, a weak economy and leaders who talk a good fight but then use positions of power to line their pockets, reward their friends and screw the rank and file.  Tyoshenko is a colorful woman, but has a bad track record.  The only thing that makes her look good is that she isn’t Yanukovych.  Eighty people died in the rioting that caused the Parliament to dismiss  Yanukovych.  They then assigned Presidential powers to their new speaker Oliksandr Turchinov, who is, in turn, a staunch ally of the formerly imprisoned Prime Minister, Yulia Tymoshenko.  Tymoshenko is declaring a moral victory and trying to regain her control.  

The Ukrainian leaders are playing musical chairs, with the common man left to pay the piper.  Yet, none of the players in this charade seem to be the best person for the job.  They are too steeped in the old communistic formulas for self aggrandizement.  No one seems to want the job for the right reason.  What would that reason be?  How about a wish to use power for a laudable reason, have the organizational skills to accomplish a great good in a short time and then have the wisdom to get out of before the lack of oxygen destroys your mind, morals and will? 

Don’t ask who wants the power, ask why they want it, and keep the faith.