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CHAPTER 6

FOR THE RECORD

Confrontational Questions

SOMETIMES YOU CAN’T BUILD BRIDGES. You’re not looking for empathy and you’re not looking for trust. You just need an answer. You have to hold someone’s feet to the fire, stare straight into their eyes, and ask what they knew, when they knew it, or what they did, said, or intended. You want a clear answer to a straight-up question. You need to pin down someone’s role or responsibility, complicity or culpability. You want accountability.

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There are plenty of times when people need to be confronted and held to account. We do it with our children in order to teach them responsibility, set boundaries, and demonstrate the consequences of their actions. We want our politicians to be accountable ...