Hang around me for only a small while and you\u2019ll quickly know there\u2019s about 37 things I love passionately. For brevity sakes, I\u2019ll mention a mere 7 today:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(1) Jesus, (2) football season, (3) my gifted sons, (4) respectful dialogue, (5) \u201cFriends,\u201d (6) authenticity, and (7) accountability.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Not in any certain order, of course. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019ll admit\u2026 it wasn\u2019t until later in life that I realized the joy, benefit, and sagacity of accountability. When you\u2019re younger \u2014 and let me throw only myself under the proverbial bus \u2014 I didn\u2019t really see the need\u2026 Sure, I made my share of mistakes \u2014 no doubt I still do \u2014 but I\u2019ve got time to grow in that area. And while I may be wrong <\/em>sometimes<\/em><\/strong> \u2014 having some inaccurate, maybe even unhealthy perspectives or behavior I accept or engage in, it\u2019s only sometimes, not often and certainly not all the time\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Accountability didn\u2019t seem like a necessary thing. Note: I\u2019ve since changed my mind. I\u2019m not certain, however, that the change in my opinion is a popular one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To be clear, accountability isn\u2019t just taking responsibility. It is also the state of being answerable. When something doesn\u2019t mesh with what we know to be good and right and true, it\u2019s a willingness to be present, still accepting and answering the tough questions; it\u2019s a commitment to communicating honestly even about what\u2019s hard. To avoid the question, therefore, is to refuse accountability. It is to refuse what is wise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s no secret, friends, that the Intramuralist is not a card-carrying member of either of the two most recent Presidents\u2019 fan clubs. I sincerely mean no disrespect to either; I simply believe that neither character nor competency should be in question in the highest office in the land, and regardless of partisan leanings, I am unwilling to minimize or ignore that which I believe to be important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not wanting to minimize or ignore, my current concern focuses on our acceptance of a lack of accountability. In other words, why won\u2019t Pres. Biden take questions?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m not talking about the questions his team plans ahead, when the reporters and inquiries are scripted. I\u2019m also not attempting to fuel any existing conspiracy theory. I\u2019m simply asking the obvious: why is Joe avoiding the press? Is there a reason he is avoiding the accountability the so-called Fourth Estate provides?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n To continue to be clear, I also don\u2019t believe it to be good and wise and true to answer dishonestly. That\u2019s not authentic \u2014 my 6th passionate love above. It is also equally inauthentic to punt to the press secretary who \u2014 with all due respect to Intramuralist faves, Dana Perino and George Stephanopolous \u2014 seems to have evolved to sharing less about an administration\u2019s reaction and more about making an administration look better than they really are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Britain\u2019s Prime Minister Boris Johnson met with Pres. Biden in the Oval Office last week, only Johnson took questions. Conservative and liberal outlets are acknowledging the reluctance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n On the incident, from the editorial board of the Boston Herald: \u201cJohnson took care of his nation\u2019s media as he should. But when U.S. reporters tried to question their own leader, Biden\u2019s communications team, in this instance better understood as a non-communications team, basically drowned out their own boss and hustled reporters out of the room. At that point, the Biden administration\u2019s lack of transparency and the president\u2019s unwillingness to hold a news conference became too much even for sympathetic reporters. All over New York and Washington, the righteous indignation of a trained journalist trying to do a job crucial to American democracy kicked into gear. The memory of Biden not taking questions after major addresses on Aug. 16, Aug. 18, Aug. 31, and Sept. 9 started to smart, and many reporters took to Twitter to say, in essence, why the heck is this administration so afraid of questions? We\u2019re amplifying those observations here: Why indeed?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n On the bigger issue, from Yahoo!: \u201cBiden, 78, often declines to interact with the press and has suggested that he is not in control of when and from whom he can take questions.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Where\u2019s the accountability? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Accountability and authenticity are always good, friends. Also true, no less, is that sometimes it takes a long time to realize that\u2026 and to not allow any of our leanings to minimize or ignore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Respectfully\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n AR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Hang around me for only a small while and you\u2019ll quickly know there\u2019s about 37 things I love passionately. For brevity sakes, I\u2019ll mention a mere 7 today: (1) Jesus, (2) football season, (3) my gifted sons, (4) respectful dialogue, (5) \u201cFriends,\u201d (6) authenticity, and (7) accountability. Not in any certain order, of course. \ud83d\ude42 … <\/p>\n