Corruption among government officials, whether politicians or public officers, can become so widespread that it is seen as normative or simply how business is done. A friend who lived in Mexico in the 1980s recalls having to give a tip to clerks at the post office to ensure that her letters were mailed.
Corruption often becomes so normalized that many engaged in bribery, misfeasance and other habits of corruption see nothing wrong in asking for a cut to approve a project by an investor or to secure a work permit from the Department of Immigration - an agency notoriously and historically rife with corruption - or to ensure a legal or regulatory matter is decided in a particular manner.
It is laughable when government officials from developed countries and their watchdog clubs like the intergovernmental Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development issue certain metrics and scathing reports on issues like money laundering in developing countries.
The level of money laundering, arms-dealing and other corrupt practices in developed countries in Europe and in the United States of America would make many third world politicians blush.
The U.S. Congress is awash in donations from contributors, lobbyists and the super-wealthy promoting agendas that hurt the poor, poison the environment and harm the common good.
The current push by the Republicans in Congress to rip up Obamacare will leave millions without health insurance while ensuring a windfall for the very wealthy. Yet, America delights in lecturing the world about its own probity and the corruption of other states.
The frenzied defense of questionable activities in the Perry Christie administration by several former PLP Cabinet ministers reveals the depth of the toleration for official misconduct by many politicians.
In the months ahead we will likely see how widespread corruption may have been in the last PLP government and how high it may have reached in the Cabinet and among senior public officers.
Former Prime Minister Perry Christie has broken his silence since his party's humiliating defeat. Christie has been on the defense in response to a drumbeat of allegations of corruption and misfeasance toward members of his former government.
This is the same Christie who failed to admit the glaring conflict of interest of former Minister of Financial Services Ryan Pinder, who left his post to take up a lucrative job with Deltec Bank.
It is also the same Christie who acted as a consultant for the oil exploration concern Bahamas Petroleum Company (BPC) when he was leader of the opposition from 2007 to 2012; the same company which had previous business before his government from 2002 to 2007 and which was granted exploratory licences during that previous term, and which had business before his last administration.

Moral signpost
At a 2014 conference under the title "Toward a Corruption-Free Caribbean: Ethics, Values, Trust and Morality", Christie spoke of a code of ethics he tabled in 2002: "Like many codes, it was primarily intended to be (and has been) a moral signpost and guide for the conduct of political decision-makers in our country. In introducing the code, I said that: 'If public confidence in the integrity of the political directorate of The Bahamas is to become a hallmark of our political culture, it is of the first importance that the prime minister and other ministers of government observe - and be seen to observe - the highest standards of probity in public life.'
"I believe in leading by example, and it is clear that one of the necessary ingredients for the success of any national initiative to fight corruption is sustained political will and the power of personal example."
He was all talk then. But when questions arose about the conflicts of interest of former Attorney General Allyson Maynard-Gibson and former Education Minister Jerome Fitzgerald, the loquacious Christie took a vow of silence.
In a 100-page meditation titled "The Way of Humility: Corruption and Sin", Pope Francis offers compelling insights on corruption. The short book is informed by his life in Argentina, especially during military dictatorships. It is informed also by corrupt practices, including financial scandals in the Vatican and in various religious orders.
Francis does not simply point the finger at others. He invites us all to examine the corruption in our own lives. He writes of how easy it is to delude ourselves about the corrupt practices we ignore in our daily habits. It is always curious to watch when certain politicians deflect from their own corruption by pointing at the corruption of the other side. The mantra is: since we all do it, what's the problem?
Francis writes: "Corrupt people are those who have built up their self-esteem on that type of deceitful attitude and go through life taking the shortcuts of self-advantage at the price of their own dignity and other people's...

Fastidiousness
"Corrupt people generally berate themselves unconsciously and then project the irritation produced by this self-blame onto others, so that they turn from attacking themselves to attacking others."
Notice how when allegations of corruption arise that certain politicians say that their side is being victimized or treated unfairly.
Francis observes: "Corrupt people always try to keep up a good appearance. Corrupt people cultivate their good manners to the point of fastidiousness so as to cover up their... habits."
He adds: "... When a corrupt person is in power, he will always implicate others in his own corruption, bring them down to his measure, and make them accomplices of his chosen way of doing things."
The corruption of the last administration appears to have been endemic. The general election was the first step in ridding the country of a government that seemed to care little about the alleged misfeasance and corruption in its midst.
The Hubert Minnis administration has the task of revealing the depth of the corruption and taking action on such wrongdoing when appropriate. To ensure that we do not return to the dark days of the past five years those who brought the country to a historic low must be held to account.

o frontporchguardian@gmail.com, www.bahamapundit.com.

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