The aroma of scandal that swirls around our public institutions is neither artificial nor tolerable, but it's not the only reality in Panamanian public life. Carnival was a good show by many people in positions high and low in public service that honorable people can do a good job.

The Panama City festivities were well organized under the leadership of he representante from Bella Vista, Julio Crespo. The mayor organized the city's street sweepers and garbage collectors in an equally impressive clean-up. The National Police, under the direction of Chief Barés, kept weapons out of the crowd and reduced violent incidents to a negligible minimum, without creating a police state atmosphere. Inspectors directed by the health minister, Fernando Gracia, were out in force to uphold sanitary standards at the places that were selling food along Via España.

During this year's Carnival traffic fatalities were way down, as were crimes at the sites of organized celebrations. Drownings were up, so water safety ought to play more prominently in next year's safety planning, but it would be unfair to blame any public official for these tragedies. The SINAPROC disaster relief agency, police, firefighters and public health care system all deserve the nation's thanks.

Now we know that it can be done right. This is the time for those who did such a good job this year to get to work on next year's Carnival, which will be an especially important one because it will coincide with the Republic of Panama's centennial.

Reasonable orders are easy enough to obey; it is capricious, bureaucratic or plain idiotic demands that form the habit of discipline.

Barbara Tuchman

All happy families resemble each other, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.

Leo Tolstoy

No one may be compelled to belong to an association.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

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