Something about Watergate
"Watergate" is a general term used to describe a political scandal happened between 1972 and 1974 in the United States. The word "Watergate" refers to the Watergate Hotel in Washington D.C. It resulted in the first resignation of the President of the United State, Richard Nixon.
The event began on June 17, 1972, when 5 burglars broke into the Democratic Party's National Committee offices in Watergate Hotel. Soon they were discovered by a security guard, Frank Wills and caught by the following police. As soon as the investigation began, it were heavily influenced by the media, particularly the work of two reporters from the Washington Post, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, along with their mysterious informant, Deep Throat. With the help of Deep Throat, the media pointed to the former president, Nixon, who was sworn in for a second term in January, 1973, was directly involved.
Political investigations began in February 1973 when the Senate established a Committee to investigate the Watergate scandal. The public hearings of the Committee were sensational, including the evidence of John Dean, Nixon's former White House Counsel. The Committee also uncovered the existence of the secret White House tape recordings, sparking a major political and legal battle between the Congress and the President. In 1974, the House of Representatives authorized the Judiciary Committee to consider impeachment proceedings against Nixon.
At 9pm on the evening of August 8, 1974, Nixon delivered a nationally televised resignation speech. The next morning, he made his final remarks to the White House staff before sending his resignation letter to the Secretary of State, Dr. Henry Kissinger.
After 33 years of undercover, the mysterious Deep Throat was identified lately as the former deputy director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, W. Mark Felt. Along with the identification, Watergate once again occupied the hot topic in media. Watergate scandal not only resulted in Nixon's resignation, but also affected the relationship between media and the government. Media no longer accept official statements easily, instead, they were always looking for insider's voice like Deep Throat. In a word, the government lost people's trust. In any case, if the President of the United State would do something illegal, wholes can be trusted? On the other hand, the Deep Throat himself suffered from disloyal justice. Some people still think he's a traitor to Nixon.
First of all, I am not even qualified to make a judgment because I'm just a foreigner. I just want to share some thoughts about it. As an engineer, I would tell you that a system with feedback control is the most stable system. The design of democracy is to decide people's destiny on their own, however not the election itself is the only way. We still need a feedback mechanism to superintend the government's direction and to pull back democracy if it's not under control. The media is a way to express people's thoughts, though sometimes itself is very dangerous. It's never easy to be unprejudiced. It could be misdirected. But not standing on the same side of the government is a way to prevent monocracy. Let's say it should be the natural of the media to stand against the government in a democracy system. And every electrees should be under supervision of the media but at the same time media should be extremely careful to prevent subjectivism. After all, I have to say sadly, most people can't make their own judgments but accept what they read.
I happened to serve in the Taiwan Army years ago. It's an obligation for male adults in Taiwan to serve nearly two years military service. There is a certain way to run the system. And the most important thing of all is loyalty. To obey every single orders from your supervisor is the duty of a soldier. I'm pretty much sure in FBI, they have similar principles. It is the profession to run the top agency like FBI, but is it allowed to challenge your supervisor if he is wrong? Or even worse, talk to the public behind his back? It always confused me when I was on duty. Even now, I still can't figure it out. Once I've been told every soldier is a tool in the war, a tool not allowed to think. Is the thinking itself disobey the loyalty? Or the fact that our boss might be wrong is more considerable? Never easy to answer those questions are. And yet, who is wise enough to make a decision and never regret?
The event began on June 17, 1972, when 5 burglars broke into the Democratic Party's National Committee offices in Watergate Hotel. Soon they were discovered by a security guard, Frank Wills and caught by the following police. As soon as the investigation began, it were heavily influenced by the media, particularly the work of two reporters from the Washington Post, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, along with their mysterious informant, Deep Throat. With the help of Deep Throat, the media pointed to the former president, Nixon, who was sworn in for a second term in January, 1973, was directly involved.
Political investigations began in February 1973 when the Senate established a Committee to investigate the Watergate scandal. The public hearings of the Committee were sensational, including the evidence of John Dean, Nixon's former White House Counsel. The Committee also uncovered the existence of the secret White House tape recordings, sparking a major political and legal battle between the Congress and the President. In 1974, the House of Representatives authorized the Judiciary Committee to consider impeachment proceedings against Nixon.
At 9pm on the evening of August 8, 1974, Nixon delivered a nationally televised resignation speech. The next morning, he made his final remarks to the White House staff before sending his resignation letter to the Secretary of State, Dr. Henry Kissinger.
After 33 years of undercover, the mysterious Deep Throat was identified lately as the former deputy director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, W. Mark Felt. Along with the identification, Watergate once again occupied the hot topic in media. Watergate scandal not only resulted in Nixon's resignation, but also affected the relationship between media and the government. Media no longer accept official statements easily, instead, they were always looking for insider's voice like Deep Throat. In a word, the government lost people's trust. In any case, if the President of the United State would do something illegal, wholes can be trusted? On the other hand, the Deep Throat himself suffered from disloyal justice. Some people still think he's a traitor to Nixon.
First of all, I am not even qualified to make a judgment because I'm just a foreigner. I just want to share some thoughts about it. As an engineer, I would tell you that a system with feedback control is the most stable system. The design of democracy is to decide people's destiny on their own, however not the election itself is the only way. We still need a feedback mechanism to superintend the government's direction and to pull back democracy if it's not under control. The media is a way to express people's thoughts, though sometimes itself is very dangerous. It's never easy to be unprejudiced. It could be misdirected. But not standing on the same side of the government is a way to prevent monocracy. Let's say it should be the natural of the media to stand against the government in a democracy system. And every electrees should be under supervision of the media but at the same time media should be extremely careful to prevent subjectivism. After all, I have to say sadly, most people can't make their own judgments but accept what they read.
I happened to serve in the Taiwan Army years ago. It's an obligation for male adults in Taiwan to serve nearly two years military service. There is a certain way to run the system. And the most important thing of all is loyalty. To obey every single orders from your supervisor is the duty of a soldier. I'm pretty much sure in FBI, they have similar principles. It is the profession to run the top agency like FBI, but is it allowed to challenge your supervisor if he is wrong? Or even worse, talk to the public behind his back? It always confused me when I was on duty. Even now, I still can't figure it out. Once I've been told every soldier is a tool in the war, a tool not allowed to think. Is the thinking itself disobey the loyalty? Or the fact that our boss might be wrong is more considerable? Never easy to answer those questions are. And yet, who is wise enough to make a decision and never regret?
posted by TY at
6:56 AM
