Theos-Talk Archives (May 2008 Message tt00236)

I am not saying here who should and should not become President of TS
this time. But I am telling something about sound democracy.
In the constitution of America, nobody can become President for more
than two terms. They have included this cause in order to prevent
misuse of power and stop person from sticking to power like autocratic
monarch. Should we have such provision in the constitution of TS ?
In the context of TS this provision is important because in history of
TS it always happened that once a person became President, he has
remained in that post for rest of his/her life. 
Regards.
Anand Gholap


--- In theos-talk@yahoogroups.com, MKR <mkr777@...> wrote:
>
> May 7, 2008
> 
> 
> Board of Directors
> Theosophical Society in America
> Wheaton, IL
> 
> Dear Brother:
> 
> In mid April, I was very surprised to receive a letter from Bro. Bland
> mailed from 210 West Geneva Road, Wheaton, which I suppose is her
> residence.
> 
> I eagerly opened the letter, with joy and great expectations, since
this is
> the first time ever I have received a letter from her. But it was
> short-lived. I was saddened to learn that Bro. Radha Burnier who had a
> stroke over a year ago, "given her age, she still has periods of low
energy
> and her memory is inconsistent" and suggesting we consider voting
for Bro.
> John Algeo.
> 
> When such a statement comes from our highly regarded National
President, it
> is given a great weight when one has to decide to whom to vote for
> especially when the letter is signed by Bro. Bland "with concern and
> sincerity". Before receiving this letter I did not have any information
> about the health of Bro. Burnier and was wondering why we have not heard
> anything so far. So I was mulling about the letter all the while
waiting for
> the ballot to arrive.
> 
> Couple of days later, one morning when I was in cyberspace, I started
> hearing that Bro. Burnier's condition is NOT what is depicted in Bro.
> Bland's letter. So there was a short period of confusion about Bro.
> Burnier's health.
> 
> A few days later, when I switched on the computer, Lo and Behold, I find
> that Bro. Burnier was reported to be fit as fiddle ? both mentally and
> physically. So the confusion was increased by the new information. I
waited
> for some more time and I found out that her personal physician and a
second
> physician who examined her declared her to be fit mentally and
physically
> and issued certificates to that effect. So my dilemma increased. On one
> hand, our National President talked about Bro. Burnier's periods of low
> energy and inconsistent memory and on the other two highly reputed
> physicians certified her fit both mentally and physically. It took
some more
> time before I was able to locate the physician's certificates.
> 
> Like any lay man or woman, we give a great weight to the professional
> opinions of physicians in health issues. In this case, it was all
the more
> so, because the first physician is highly reputed in Chennai. The second
> one,  President(Principal) of a Medical College. When professionals
of this
> caliber render a definitive opinion, they cannot be lightly
dismissed and
> believe in lay man's/woman's health opinions.
> 
> Later I also came across personal statements of very reputable
Theosophists
> attesting to the good health of Bro. Burnier. All the above
information was
> gleaned from e-mail traffic in maillists such as theos-talk and
theos-L. I
> am not sure how many of you are familiar with these two free
Theosophical
> Internet  mailing lists.
> 
> The certificates from the two physicians attesting to Bro. Burnier's
fitness
> was sent to all General Secretaries, including Bro. Bland.
> 
> In the light of the above, as a voting member of TSA, I was waiting to
> receive them or the information contained in them from Bro. Bland, since
> this was a critical information contradicting what Bro. Bland
conveyed in
> her letter supporting Bro. Algeo. I also thought it was the duty and
> responsibility of the National President to fully, timely inform the
voting
> members since the election is very important at this time in the
history of
> TS.
> 
> I waited and waited and waited.  No communication came from Bro.
Bland. So
> the only conclusion we can reach is that Bro. Bland deliberately
chose to
> withhold the information from the voting members. One has to presume
that by
> withholding the info, members would be kept in the dark about the real
> health condition of Bro. Burnier and members believing what was said
in the
> letter by Bro. Bland, they would conclude  that Bro. Burnier's health is
> poor and hence they are likely to vote for Bro. Algeo.
> 
> The above described events that took place relative to the elections
raises
> some important questions.
> 
> 1. Membership list is supposed to be confidential and is to be used
only for
> TS official business. Bro. Bland had access to it and she used it to
send
> the letters in her personal capacity to members trying to solicit
votes for
> Bro. Algeo. Bro. Bland can, in her personal capacity, solicit for any
> individual, but not use the official mailing list for it.
> 
> Using the official membership list for her personal use is
inappropriate and
> is breaking long-standing privacy policy of TSA and sets a bad
example to
> the TS members.
> 
> We members of TS are expected to live up to a high ethical standard
and we
> expect the leaders to be more sensitive to it than ordinary members.
> 
> 2. The issue of the certifications of two physicians, declaring Bro.
> Burnier, physically and mentally fit is critical to the election.
But Bro.
> Bland, who received the certifications chose withhold them, thus
keeping the
> members in the dark of this important information which has a direct
bearing
> on the election. I do not think that the National President has the
right to
> censor such critical information and by doing so has seriously
tainted the
> election.
> 
> 3. Withholding important and critical information raises the
question of how
> much trust we can have on our National President. Are there any other
> important information relating to the election process, she is privy
to, and
> members have a right to, is being withheld from members with a view
to tilt
> the election outcome?  Once trust is lost, it is almost impossible
to get it
> back.
> 
> 4. In the past, we have heard of instances of highly placed
officials losing
> their positions due to minor personal indiscretions due to common human
> weaknesses. In the above instance, the withholding information thus
> affecting the outcome of International President election is very
serious
> because it will affect the future of TS in the world for decades to
come.
> 
> It is my humble request for you all look into the above and take
such action
> necessary before events go out of control and hurt the Theosophical
Society
> for decade to come. We all have a duty and responsibility to do so.
> 
> Thanking you
> 
> Yours fraternally
> 
> 
> 
> M K Ramadoss
> Member, TS, San Antonio, Texas
> 
> 
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>