'Transparency' and Purification

There is a new word used publicly in government and corporate circles alike and that is 'transparency' - the willingness to be seen. This is both a beautiful word suggesting the desire for greater openness and accountability by those in positions of power. Yet it is also a word which can be misused when it is used falsely or indiscriminately.

That there are new 'transparency' advocates is a testimony both to the values of the new administration in Washington, (which we hope will live up to its own ideal), yet it is larger than this. It is a concept which comes about due to a shift in collective consciousness away from greed, manipulation, and self-interest, toward a greater concern for the collective whole. The AIG and Bernard Madoff scandals have contributed to the popular currency of this word, but these scandals are part of the larger picture of purification of a nation's consciousness - a process that is underway.

'Transparency' is not the be all and end all of a new age in America and elsewhere. But it does herald a shift in awareness that may make for more honest relations on all levels of government and between the government and the people. May this word come to be embodied on both a large scale and a small, so that deceptive practices become a thing of the past, and the desire to benefit life become a thing of the present.