By: Matthew Winograd
When bad things happen, the natural reaction is to look for someone to blame. Maybe we should be asking why this happened or how did this happen, but instead we ask who let this happen. While this may not be the most appropriate reaction nor the most prudent, it is human nature to want to blame someone. As leaders and politicians become increasingly hesitant to accept blame and take accountability, we are set in a precarious and stagnant state in which more time is spent pointing fingers than trying to fix the problem or prevent future problems.
Every elected official has ambition. This is natural; those in power will always want more power, and in some ways this can be good. Leaders will never stop doing their job to the best of their abilities because they know it will hinder future election prospects. However, this constant pursuit of higher positions and more power often leads to dishonesty, as each politician knows that every mistake or fault they admit will be thrown back in their face in the next election cycle. In fact, many candidates have taken to treating their time in office as a two- to four-year campaign in preparation for the next election cycle rather than actually trying to create change. This form of politics, in which politicians only acknowledge what they do that goes well, is one of the foremost dangers of our current political landscape. The old adage is that every senator wakes up, looks in the mirror, and sees a future president. While this is obviously an exaggeration, its message rings true for politicians at all levels. In a turbulent social and political landscape, we need leaders that are unafraid. Unafraid of being criticized, unafraid of taking accountability, and unafraid of potentially damaging their own career prospects if it means they can help society.
A perfect representation of the fear of accountability can be seen through a story that’s been in the news recently. In the late hours of Saturday July 20, an off duty Customs and Border Protection officer was shot in an attempted robbery. One of the men arrested, 21-year-old Miguel Francisco Mora Nunez, has been arrested by the NYPD four times and had an active warrant for armed robbery in Massachusetts at the time of his arrest. The other man arrested on suspicion of committing this crime is Christhian Aybar-Berroa, a 22-year-old man who has been arrested eight times for grand larcenies and robberies.
When the identities of the men were released to the public, the question on many people’s minds was asked on ABC 7 by Pedro Rivera. He asked Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Kaz Daughtry, “These were people with multiple priors, how are they allowed to be on the streets?” In response, Daughtry said, “How is that the mayor’s problem? How is that the mayor’s fault? He doesn’t make the laws.” It’s a striking answer. What happened is not Mayor Adams’ fault, and he should not have to take responsibility. However with this response, Mr. Daughtry is falling into the same cycle of pointing fingers that we all are guilty of participating in. I’m not saying Mayor Adams should take responsibility nor am I saying that anything Mr. Daughtry said isn’t true, but maybe for once we should focus not on who’s right and who’s wrong, but on what’s right and what’s wrong. Are politicians not supposed to be the best of us? To represent the people in good times and bad? To be honest regardless of how it makes them look? This is why they are elected, and these are not unreasonable standards to hold them to. All that is necessary is an admission of truth, something that overpowers childish desires to point fingers. All that needed to be said was “these people should not have been on the streets and we will work to ensure that dangerous people like these two men are not allowed to do any more harm to our citizens.” That’s not the mayor’s office accepting responsibility for something that isn’t their fault. That’s not pointing the blame towards someone else. That’s stating a fact, being mature, and being honest. That’s not taking responsibility nor is it passing the blame, that’s being a leader. Is that too much to ask of our politicians?
33rd president Harry S. Truman had a quote on his desk that epitomizes what it means to be a leader. It read “the buck stops here.” That quote shows Truman’s acknowledgement that every decision is his, and whatever mistakes are made or whatever goes wrong, the responsibility is always his. Any criticism he will accept, any wrongdoing he will admit. That is what is expected from leaders everywhere, and we should demand nothing less from the people we elect to represent us.
Accountability is scarce in politics these days. Our leaders live in fear of losing elections, of negative headlines, of approval ratings. Their fear consumes and defines them. So they mislead, they point fingers, they “pass the buck.” We don’t elect people so that we can vote for them again in four years, we elect them so they can lead honestly, fairly, and fearlessly, for however long they serve. Once we hold our politicians to the same level of accountability to which we hold leaders in every aspect of society, we may finally start to return to a less volatile political landscape. All we need is accountability. The buck stops at the top.
https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/education/trivia/buck-stops-here-sign
politicsblog.org 
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