Hypocrisy 2.0

My husband and I are fond of air traffic controllers. Our affection for them goes back over twenty years ago to when we both were student pilots at our local, class C airport. Class C airports have air traffic controllers who oversee take offs, landings, ground movement, and regulate aircraft flying into or out of their airspace. They were a vital part of our learning to fly because one of the things we had to learn was how to talk to them on our radios. In our tower, the folks were rooting for us to become good pilots. I remember one controller in particular. I think her name was Mary, and at the end of a series of practice take offs and landings, she complimented me and said that I had done well. It was a wonderful endorsement from someone who didn’t have to have such a personal investment in my success.

Recently, my husband called the former director of our air traffic control tower, to find out how we could make a donation to the current controllers who are working without pay (due to the government shutdown). He said that the most we could donate was twenty-five dollars. According to him, it is against federal law to give any more money than that to a federal employee. Our friend described how he wanted to give more than that to his mailman at Christmas, but the fellow had to turn it down because it was illegal.

Something is amiss here.

I can think of a slew of federal employees that we all know who have accepted money or gifts in larger amounts than twenty-five dollars, and I’ll bet you can too. Some get away with it; others do not. One supreme court justice and one president immediately come to mind, but so does one former US senator who is serving a jail sentence for his crimes.

I respect the reasoning behind the prohibition of donations to public servants. Those who shoulder the responsibility of serving the public should not be tempted to use their power for their own personal gain. Bribes are a form of corruption.

I wrote about hypocrisy in my first blog post. This is my third post, and that theme is front and center in our current government shut down.

To the air traffic controllers all over the country, thank you. I wish I could share my resources with you right now, but it seems we have a two-tier system of justice in our country. I’m appalled. Multiple companies can donate to the construction of a presidential ballroom and it’s not bribery, but giving money to those laid off because of the shutdown is?

I have a hard time seeing how giving an air traffic controller or a mailman more than twenty-five dollars as a show of appreciation or an act of generosity could result in a misuse of their power. I mean really, how much power to deliver a dangerous or abusive favor do controllers and mailmen have? Not much, and certainly not as much as a few high-end government officials I can think of.

Where there is hypocrisy there is usually dishonesty and a double standard. We are better than this.

Let’s Hang Together!