Criminals at Enron

There are many types of criminals that cause us outrage and anger. The drug dealer and armed robber are blights on our society that bring pain and heartache to those they touch. We think of home invaders and violators and lock our doors at night. How dare they cause us fear and others so much harm. Our fury and indignation is well justified and it is right that we should want them to pay for the hurt they have caused. I remind you today of those petty criminals to contrast the recently convicted criminals of the Enron scandal. Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling were found guilty last week of fraud and conspiracy, but what does that really mean? What are they really guilty of?

The rise and fall of Enron was constructed around a shell game as crooked and as immoral as any game of Three Card Monty. Only when you reach the top of your profession do conmen and charlatans gain the title of CEO. After the partial deregulation of the Electricity market in California in 1996 Enron began “gaming the market” by creating energy shortages artificially then charging inflated rates for power that Californian cities desperately needed. The economic implications of this price gouging were immense. Often overlooked is that fact that several alterative energy companies using wind and solar failed because the state government did not have the money to pay for their product. Local conventional power suppliers also suffered having to cut 1,300 jobs just to stay solvent from 2000 to 2001. By 2000 Enron executives began to sell their stock at $90.00 a share. This was the highest mark Enron stock would ever reach even though Ken Lay and his associates were telling investors projections were to reach 130 by the end of the year. By the beginning of the year 2001 Enron stock was valued at 30 cents a share. The lie of Enron success was now obvious and the conmen were running for cover with their ill-gotten gains. 11,000 people lost their jobs and financial futures with Enron but the damage ripples far beyond the company itself.

Armed robbers have distorted motives for threatening others over a few dollars snatched from a gas station. Drug addled and addicted or uneducated and desperate are all excuses the common criminal uses to justify bad behavior. What then is the excuse of Kenneth Lay? Educated with a doctorate in economics at University of Houston and close personal friends with the Bush family, what motivated these crimes against the country at large? Greed. Power hungry and selfish they have done more damage to more people that all other thieves and conmen combined. They live in a world where money is made, not for spending, but for bragging rights on the polo field. This destructive game of corruption is played by more than just Enron executives. Be wary of those that offer something for nothing and be vigilant against those that would use corporate power and political ties to take so much from so many. Corrupt officials in politics or in business deserve our scorn and contempt as much as any other criminal, perhaps more so. If the common crook deserves the book thrown at him, Ken Lay deserves no less that a library of our collective scorn to remind him what an offensive and destructive person he has become.

Summer Movie Season

The summer movie season is beginning. Soon theaters around the country will be filled with explosions, costumes and clashing swords. For many these films represent a distraction from the complex problems that life has to offer. A summer film can be a two-hour, air conditioned respite from not only the heat of the day but the turmoil of modern life. Can a summer film offer more than this? The same conflicts of life are often mirrored in the adventures of our favorite heroes. The morality tales of good verses evil are simplifications of the trials we face every day. If only I could face and defeat the challenges in my life with a sword, a shout of courage and a charge across a field of battle. Instead I move with restraint and uncertainty in a world filled not with monsters and evil but conflicting agendas and weakness of my own spirit. There may well be true evil in the world but I have yet to be confronted by it in my life. Rarely have I have been certain in my own righteousness and course of action. Never has my path been as clear as that of the action hero shown to me on many a hot summer day. Still, when I see a hero of the silver screen make a choice of sacrifice over self preservation or participation over apathy I thrill at the possibility that such courage could be found in my life. The things that make a hero are not great deeds but great choices. In the world I live there are no villains. My life is filled only with choices to be made and actions to be taken. Heroes of the summer movies remind me of what the best motives to action can be. Villains show me a side of myself when I act out of fear, selfishness and insecurity. Life is complex but the ideals that govern my life don’t have to be. No story can tell me what to do or solve my problems. Stories can help inform me where to center my thoughts before I choose my course. Isn’t this why we go in mass to these films? Not for the explosions or special effects but the reminder of what we are capable of being. Whatever you choose to see this summer take a moment to wonder how the story relates to your life. Which character do you identify with and why. It is possible to be the hero in the movie of your own life even when the villain fails to appear.

United 93 film

United 93 started showing in theaters last week. I had seen the trailer on the Internet last month. It gave me chills. My wife, standing behind me, was in tears. Each of us will react different to the theatrical retelling of that traumatic day. 9/11 holds a special place in our history because of the shared trauma we all experienced. I remember that day well and the feeling that events were beyond my control. As the morning turned into afternoon no city in America knew if they would be next. So we waited, watching our TV screens until the early morning hours. We were waiting for the “all clear” signal that never came. The good news that everything would be all right and those that did this would be brought to justice seemed just out of reach. So we waited, because that was all we could do. In the days that followed we began to miss the buzz of airplane engines that once filled our skies and it became clear that our nation might never be the same. Days turned into months and whatever emotional pain I had from that day was pushed aside for more mundane duties of life going on. Besides how could I or any of us say we were “victims” of 9/11 in relation to those that truly suffered terrible loss.
Now 5 years have passed and we are no further in dealing with the emotional trauma of that day. In order to heal as a nation we need to look once again at the day we all lived and integrate it into ourselves. We all must mourn the loss of security and safety we once were so sure of. Few of us were directly involved or touched by the events of 9/11 but we were all hurt that day. The damage may seem minor compared to others, but no matter how slight the pain it’s a wound that we all share. A collective scare that we all carry together can only be healed when we address it as whole. I think this film is a good place to start the process. Go see this film and remember who and what we lost. Remember what you felt that day and mourn the passing of the world we had before. 9/11 will be a part of our national story forever. However, the pain we felt on that day doesn’t have to be with us as long as the memory.