The Practice of Politics

Dear Mr. President,

As once said by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, "Those who desire to treat politics and morals separately will never understand anything of either." Once upon a time in America a man's word was his bond, most people had Integrity. People did not even need contracts a handshake was reliable. Today, even if you have a written contract you have little guarantee that those who entered into the contract will even attempt to fulfill it. The practice of politics not only can but must be reconciled with the imperatives of honesty.

Mr. President, there is a lack of integrity in politics today. I guess society might blame it on postmodern thought where morals and truth are said to be relative. Nonetheless, hiding behind the philosophy of relativism does not mean that politicians do not actually know the difference between what is right and what is wrong.

But what is honesty or dishonesty in a politician? I ask myself, is it possible for a politician to be honest at all?

The question goes to the heart of democracy. When voters write off politicians as dishonest, anti-democratic movements thrive. Yet all politicians know that ambiguity and compromise tend to prevail over universal truths. Sometimes one must choose the lesser evil, but today that seems to happen less and less frequently. It is understood that our ordinary standards of decency and righteousness cannot always be applied. But nowadays, it seems like we don't even try to bother.

The root causes of the lack of integrity in America appears to be selfishness and having no empathy or love for others. Many people just no longer care what their own actions do to others. Some might think the lack of integrity is limited to mostly the younger generation but that is not true. Lack of Integrity is found across the board. It seems that all age groups have now become infected with this selfishness through media brainwashing, bad example and permissiveness where there is very little negative consequence for doing what they know is wrong.

Mr. President, when I turn on the television or read the news, I don't know what to believe. What is fact? What is fiction fabricated to make ratings on media networks skyrocket? Why must we belittle others to make ourselves look better? Mr. President, where has the honesty in the world gone? Where is our sense of integrity?