This is simply one example of a broader issue, which is radical Islam. Until the world acknowledges that radical Islam is a cancer that will destroy humanity we will continue to have problems such as UNWRA. A governance system of oppression of women and subordination of all non Muslims, cloaked in the thin veneer of a religion, is a reasonably accurate description of radical Islam. It is not acceptable for civilized nations. End of story.
If people default to "government ugly" then it's because they have repeated instances of "rich and powerful ugly" to compare them with. The problem is that governments become more powerful to protect the people and then become the oppressors themselves.
I think people default to government because we are wired to fear uncertainty and lack of control. Government is a very easy proxy for remediating that fear. And, on top of that, there's the nirvana fallacy that we are all prone to.
I think also it is easy to default to government because it alleviates personal responsibility. People do not want to take responsibility for themselves or for their actions (we can cite many examples which would generate tomes of discussion) - they want government to take care of all their hardships.
This is the old case of people not wanting to go out on a limb because it's easier to turn a blind eye to what is done wrong by those in authority either because it's accommodating or expedient.
It’s about the continuous power gained by keeping the mushrooms in the dark with an endless supply of bullshit to keep them satisfied. Satisfied because the mushrooms are too stupid to bother to educate themselves with the documents so easily accessed by anyone at any time.
From personal experience, not everybody who "goes to Washington" is corrupted by power. In my case, years ago, I was there as a science and technology analyst. My peers worked other parts of the Army budget. Some proved inept and couldn't even get a spreadsheet to balance. Others were infected with the God complex that comes with wielding "authority" over billions of portfolio dollars. Most of us, I believe, just wanted to do our time in Shawshank and get paroled back to the real world.
My observation is that those infected with the God complex find a way to stay there. And of course, with a permanent civilian bureaucracy, you can well imagine "the type" that rises to the top. The bureaucrats' Hippocratic Oath is "first, do nothing that will threaten the power we have over billions of dollars."
The UN is just like that - just like all US federal government departments. Concerned first with maintaining their authorities, and after that...well, what's the purpose of having that authority if you're not going to use it to advance an agenda? This is the problem with all permanent bureaucratic structures - they cease being about some mission or ideal and become hopelessly corrupted.
In our American government "system" - that's not supposed to happen. Because the senior leadership is supposed to be political appointees who change out with the administration. Barack Obama saw this as an impediment to the permanent changes he desired and converted many political appointments to Civil Service under EO 13714- thus protecting his ideologues from replacement when Trump assumed office.
Certainly, not all who work for the government are corrupt or driven by selfish motives. I won't delve too deeply into that bestiary here - perhaps another blog post - but one thing is certain: those who are power hungry are the most likely to end up in positions of power, simply because that's their motivation.
This is simply one example of a broader issue, which is radical Islam. Until the world acknowledges that radical Islam is a cancer that will destroy humanity we will continue to have problems such as UNWRA. A governance system of oppression of women and subordination of all non Muslims, cloaked in the thin veneer of a religion, is a reasonably accurate description of radical Islam. It is not acceptable for civilized nations. End of story.
If people default to "government ugly" then it's because they have repeated instances of "rich and powerful ugly" to compare them with. The problem is that governments become more powerful to protect the people and then become the oppressors themselves.
I think people default to government because we are wired to fear uncertainty and lack of control. Government is a very easy proxy for remediating that fear. And, on top of that, there's the nirvana fallacy that we are all prone to.
I think also it is easy to default to government because it alleviates personal responsibility. People do not want to take responsibility for themselves or for their actions (we can cite many examples which would generate tomes of discussion) - they want government to take care of all their hardships.
This is the old case of people not wanting to go out on a limb because it's easier to turn a blind eye to what is done wrong by those in authority either because it's accommodating or expedient.
Considering Alger Hiss set the UN up, why be surprised? It serves his purpose.
It’s about the continuous power gained by keeping the mushrooms in the dark with an endless supply of bullshit to keep them satisfied. Satisfied because the mushrooms are too stupid to bother to educate themselves with the documents so easily accessed by anyone at any time.
From personal experience, not everybody who "goes to Washington" is corrupted by power. In my case, years ago, I was there as a science and technology analyst. My peers worked other parts of the Army budget. Some proved inept and couldn't even get a spreadsheet to balance. Others were infected with the God complex that comes with wielding "authority" over billions of portfolio dollars. Most of us, I believe, just wanted to do our time in Shawshank and get paroled back to the real world.
My observation is that those infected with the God complex find a way to stay there. And of course, with a permanent civilian bureaucracy, you can well imagine "the type" that rises to the top. The bureaucrats' Hippocratic Oath is "first, do nothing that will threaten the power we have over billions of dollars."
The UN is just like that - just like all US federal government departments. Concerned first with maintaining their authorities, and after that...well, what's the purpose of having that authority if you're not going to use it to advance an agenda? This is the problem with all permanent bureaucratic structures - they cease being about some mission or ideal and become hopelessly corrupted.
In our American government "system" - that's not supposed to happen. Because the senior leadership is supposed to be political appointees who change out with the administration. Barack Obama saw this as an impediment to the permanent changes he desired and converted many political appointments to Civil Service under EO 13714- thus protecting his ideologues from replacement when Trump assumed office.
Certainly, not all who work for the government are corrupt or driven by selfish motives. I won't delve too deeply into that bestiary here - perhaps another blog post - but one thing is certain: those who are power hungry are the most likely to end up in positions of power, simply because that's their motivation.
Three chord blues = three chord rock. Some things are universal. Sorry to comment on your metaphor and not your ultimate meaning.