Integrity: The Missing Element in Politics
With the 2008 Presidential election fast approaching, I, along with thousands of other voters across the country, will exercise my right in choosing a new leader. I don’t know what will happen when I step into the booth because I am filled with despair, anger and dread. I have come to realize that I have no faith in those seeking the most powerful position in the world, be they Republican or Democrat. I’ve watched both party conventions for years, and I came away with absolutely nothing! I’ve seen more drama and suspense on “All My Children”. I thought I was going to choke to death on all of the bullshit and lack of detail that was being shoved down our throats. I guess other people felt a lump in their throats as well because the television ratings have been in the cellar for both conventions in previous years. Everything at the conventions is so scripted that I began to wonder if anyone speaks from the heart anymore. Can anyone look at the camera and make you believe in them anymore? Does anybody really care about this country and the people in it? For every question I asked, the answer was a resounding, “Hell no!”
It’s hard for either contender to speak from the heart because campaign contributions, mostly from huge conglomerates, dictate what you should say, how you say it, and when you say it. It’s even harder for these clowns to look into a camera and make people believe in them because they, or their parties, have been caught in so many lies and contradictions that no one wants to listen to them anymore, right Senator Kerry? It’s hard to believe that any candidate really cares about this country when they sit back and watch the elderly and poor suffer tremendously, while Wall Street investors boast about record gains and corporate executives extort millions from employee pensions.
The political process is out of control, and the issues, as well as the American people, have taken a backseat to Washington lobbyists, corporate interests, and the Almighty dollar. Fighting for the common man is no longer part of the political picture. You don’t believe it? Just look at the unprecedented number of political protests that are taking place all over this country and the world. In every case it’s the same. It’s the little man, or woman, fighting back against the large corporations or questionable and corrupt political establishments. They are union members, federations, small businesses, and grass roots and community-based organizations. Their cowardly and well-compensated political representatives won’t address their concerns, so they take it to the streets. The fact that this is happening more frequently, particularly in the United States, is an extremely sad commentary on our political system. Both the Republican and Democratic Party are to blame for this fiasco.
People are tired of being lied to. People are tired of having to accept the status quo. People are tired of begging elected officials to address or acknowledge them and their concerns. Integrity is nowhere to be found. The proof is in the fact that voter turnout has been on the decline, nationwide, for the last 10-20 years. Something has got to give before we totally lose faith in the political system. Heaven help us if that happens!
Integrity can make a huge difference in the world of politics. Perhaps Thomas Jefferson was right. When you engage in a system that values money, power and class distinction over people’s rights, it won’t be long before you have a major revolt, on one level or another, within the country. Maybe we need a revolution in order to dramatically turn things around. Hopefully, it will never come to that. The man, or woman, that is willing to stand up and say, “Too many lies are being told to the American public by both parties,” could have a profound impact on the political system. In a world where double talk, deal making and improvisation rule supreme, it would be so refreshing to have someone actually tell the truth, stand by what they believed in, and did what they said they were going to do. You even had poor Vice-Presidential candidate Senator Joe Lieberman flip-flopping on certain positions during the election of 2000, and he has always been viewed as a man of utmost integrity. The system jumped up and bit him in the ass too! Once, just once, I’d love to hear a presidential candidate say in a debate, “My fellow Americans, my opponent is full of shit, I’m full of shit, and the whole political system is full of shit! The time has come for change!” I’d literally break a leg running to cast my vote for that candidate.
They say you have to compromise in politics, but too many political leaders have taken that to the extreme by compromising their morals and values. Many have lost their integrity, and the voters are starting to react. During the 2004 Presidential campaign, George “Weasel Puss” Bush and John “Lurch” Kerry were political drones with no clear vision for the future of this country. Their speeches amounted to nothing more than empty promises, and I suspect the voters had a very difficult time deciding who to support because they were both confirmed bullshitters who played it safe and avoided real issues. In other words, they were extremely deficient in the integrity department. Again, you don’t have to take my word for it. Just take a look at the debates they had. Even Albert Einstein would have come away asking “What the hell?” after watching the Bush-Kerry love-fest.
Regardless of my sentiments, I will be voting. I’m never thrilled about the candidates at all, but I will continue to make choices. It would be so much easier to make my choice if I felt that the man entrusted with the presidency, and our lives, was going to have a sense of honor, loyalty, compassion and most of allâÂ?¦. integrity.
