|
| Home |
We elect our politicians to administer our government and make our laws. We should not hold them to a higher moral standard than the rest of our nation. Article VI of our constitution states, "The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States."
Over the years we have convoluted our elections with issues that have nothing to do with the ability to effectively run our country. The result of this practice is leaders like George Bush that think it is their right to force their personal beliefs of morality on the entire population. As a result, we have laws on our books that are none of the government's business. These laws include but are not limited to a woman's right to choose, stem cell research and same-sex marriage.
Religious leaders are moral leaders. Politicians are administrators. Were it not for the moral principles of George Bush, we would not have invaded Iraq. During the election of 2000, George Bush frequently referred to restoring moral integrity not only to the White House but to the nation. Bill Clinton left our economy strong which resulted in voter apathy. We only have a high voter turnout when the economy is in trouble. Unfortunately, the religious right always votes and they vote on issues that have nothing to do with administering our government.
We should judge a politician on whether or not they have lived up to their campaign promises. We should hold politicians that set themselves up as moral judges and then campaign on those principles to their own standards. It should always be about the job and how they do the job. When we go to the doctor, we care about his reputation as a physician. We don't care about his reputation as a playboy. If personal activities aren't illegal and don't compromise a politician's ability to do his job, they should be left out of the picture.
When we start treating elections like a job interview, we will get better leaders. Many qualified people never run for office simply because they don't want their personal life splattered over the front page of every newspaper in the nation. Many leaders have had things in their personal lives that the religious right wouldn't like. Men such as Thomas Jefferson, Martin Luther King, John F. Kennedy and Bill Clinton carried on with women other than their wives. Power attracts and often powerful men have powerful lapses in judgement. However, if those lapses don't interfere with the business of our nation, it is not our business.
Politicians are wasting time on projects and issues that have nothing to do with keeping our nation strong and as a result, it isn't. During the last decade they should have been making sure that our financial institutions were following good business practices. Instead they listened to constituents with personal agendas that had nothing to do with good government. As a result, trivial issues such as stamps and holidays were addressed and government oversight of financial institutions was relaxed.
| Home |