Grammar School Anonymity

Dear editor:

Many, many years ago, when I was a young boy in grammar school, one of the first things I learned was to always put my name at the top of the page. This action would guarantee that the teacher would always know whose paper she (or he) was looking at and could give the proper credit for whatever was written on that particular page. Seemed like a simple, responsible system, and one that I, as a result, have learned to live by most of my life. I even have stationery with my name at the top so that whoever I write to will know that it came from me.

If only our government leaders felt the same way about pride in authorship.

Just yesterday there was a report in a national newspaper that Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX) was scaling back some of his rhetoric and bullying due to the many questions swarming around his ethical lapses. "He's withdrawn, he's tired, he looks like he's not sleeping," said a Republican aide who has worked closely with DeLay, but who agreed to share his observations only on the condition of anonymity. Anonimity? That means the person sharing this information never learned in grade school to put his (or her) name at the top of the page.

A high ranking officer in our military was reported to have said that things are not going well in Iraq in our war against the insurgents, who daily bomb, destroy and kill. Of course he said this only on condition of anonymity. Guess he started school in the fifth grade, long after everyone else had already learned about putting your name at the top of the page.

So much of our governmental news today is given out in the form of planned leaks by “anonymous” people that we have to assume that we are being governed by people who are not very proud of the job they are doing. Maybe they need to go back to the first grade and put their name at the top of the page.

Maybe next year I’ll send in my income taxes, and in the box where you are supposed to write your name I’ll state, “Submitted on condition of anonymity.”