There has always been a certain amount of corruption and scandal involving elected officials in the United States. History books tell many tales about the “Teapot Dome” scandal, Tammany Hall, Nixon/Watergate, Abscam, Iran-Contra, the DeLay fundraising probe, the Clintons and Whitewater, the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal, Larry Craig, Elliot Spitzer, Anthony Weiner and the many Ted Kennedy involvements, to name just a few.
Corruption and scandal go back almost to the discovery and involve presidents, vice presidents, senators, congressional representatives, various Cabinet members, state governors, Supreme Court justices and many lesser officials. The real problem is that corruption and scandal almost appear to be evolving into accepted norms for U.S. politics. Both occur too frequently to go without questioning the system itself and the voter.
Do we as voters do sufficient analysis of the candidates? Is there really a system of checks and balances that works? Is the system being used in the way it was intended to be used? Is there sufficient transparency in our government at all levels?
The only thing that is certain right now is that there are far more questions than answers regarding why the frequency of corruption and scandal among elected officials continues to increase.
When you look at many of the recent cases involving corruption and scandal, you might ask, “Who really cares?” or say, “This is little more than a minor infraction.”
I do not see it that way, and here is why:
One, norms tend to change and they change based on that which has gone before. Do we really want to see a continued increase in these things because Representative So-and-So got away with it?
Two, when elected officials vote based on who is greasing their palm or the party’s palm, rather than what their constituents want or need, democracy itself takes a heavy hit.
Three, we are part of a global community and what blackens our eye blackens the world’s eye. We must remember that perception is reality in the eyes of the beholder and the reality we project has not been a bright and shiny halo or the “warm fuzzies” as of late.
And four, our children and grandchildren look to our leaders for examples. They learn history in school from books that are beginning to have more than just a smattering of the dark side of government. These children will someday wonder where our heads were when we voted for some of these officials and I would like to minimize the number of explanations I have to give.
You see, the cost of corruption and scandal is not only the multimillion dollar payouts to the same bankers who brought our country to its knees recently, or the taxpayer dollars involved in the Iran-Contra scandal, or the taxpayer dollars that went to traffic cocaine and help launder money in Arkansas, or the campaign contributions that went to support mistresses. There are many more hidden costs, costs that could well prove to be more than our national moral pocketbook can bear. These costs do reflect our image to the eyes of the world and will continue to reflect our image to generations yet to be born.
Last but far from least is the issue of trust. If these individuals cannot be trusted by their spouses, by their constituency, by their neighbors, and by their peers, they certainly do not belong where they are.
I am far from being a moralist, and to be honest I could not care less if “Joe DaLowlife” from down the road wants to risk his reputation by driving around town with a van load of prostitutes or by wasting his paycheck on illegal gambling. The problem here is that we are not talking about “Joe DaLowlife” from down the road. We are talking about people who represent our country, control the spending of our tax dollars, and make decisions that can and do affect our country and the entire world.
Remember, these people are the United States to many who view their actions from around the world. Just because they have no pride in themselves is no reason to allow them to destroy our chance to be proud of our country.
The voters are waking up and smelling the manure these individuals are spreading over our national reputation. People are getting away from the TV and investigating the individuals who want their vote. They are finding out who they are, what they have done and what they are doing.
They are finding out if their personal history shows them to be honest and trustworthy, and they are doing this before the next time they vote. Time is running out for the United States, and that is not just my opinion. It appears to be the opinion of a great number of voters who have already cast their ballots for someone other than the favored puppet of either of the two major political parties.
However, there is more to come. The arrogance of both political parties has roused a sleeping giant in the American voter and that giant is angry.
So, if you are wise, you will view the November election as a beginning and not the end.
(Robert M. Collinsworth lives in Harrisville.)