From: Harvey Heagy 
Subject: Re: Why The NFB
I don't think so.  If some of us who love the N.F.B. and its
positive philosophy attempt to display examples of when our
national leadership does not stand for personal accountability
among themselves it is precisely because we are concerned about
the direction in which it may be heading.  There is an old
expression, "Power corrupts absolutely, and absolute power
corrupts."  I happen to believe in that saying and that God is
the only one who can handle absolute power.  There is an entire
generation of federationists who don't remember when we were a
grass roots organization and know no other way other then that of
training centers coming first and the rather obvious attempt of our
national leadership to consolidate its power.  As I said in an
earlier post, it is necessary to give up some individual power
for the good of the general population.  This is true in
government as well as in our organization; but some of this has
gone too far.  Some of the newer members don't remember picketing
all day long against Nac for its repressive policies which held
blind people down for years, but I do.  I remember it very well.
I was there.  I heard our national leaders speak against Nac and
what it was doing and well it should have.  But I see some of the
same behavior in our own national leaders now that the balance
of power has shifted.
What I am saying is that whether it comes from Nac, A.C.B.,
N.F.B. or whoever, right is right and wrong is wrong.  If a
certain type of behavior is wrong for Nac it is also wrong for
the N.F.B.  We can't have it both ways.  If we demand
accountability from others then we must show it among ourselves as
an organization.  If we accuse others of engaging in conflicts of
interest, then we should extra diligent in making certain that we
do not.  After all, we claim to be preaching the correct gospel
about blindness and that the agency system of the past was more
interested in feeding its own power structure than in helping the
blind and rightfully so; so we should be more not less accountable.
Harvey
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