Politicians ~ Apathy and Greed

After spending over twenty five years in public service I don’t believe that a person’s morality diminishes with tenure. It has also been my experience that during this term of career growth someone’s confidence increases exponentially that allows you to make better decisions along the way. It is this confidence that impacts so heavily and so dramatically on your moral compass and your basic instinct to tell right from wrong.

Hence there is a powerful balance for the need or desire to maintain political acceptance within a circle of friends, organization or government that creates the temptation to use what powers your position offers to help others. In addition to finding shortcuts to political bureaucracy your help or desire to help others should be within the legal limitations provided and not push the envelope of corruption or abuse of resources to create fear or destroy the credibility of others as it is this access to power that is in all actuality the very same power that keeps you in office or position.

Therefore a person that follows their own conscience is the type of politician that will maintain self control to preserve his or her own reputation for being honest and above reproach. Their knowledge lies on the fact that once there is any doubt in their reputation, integrity or credibility, the public will not take it lightly and focus on everything you do as they illuminate any improprieties causing you the potential embarrassment, humiliation and darkness to find a place to hide to avoid prosecution or persecution by others. The fact is you will stand alone as not one wants to defend someone or be associated with someone that is of ill repute and condemned as a corrupt politician.

Of course there are those that step over this line without hesitation and scurry into the darkness fulltime to avoid any undue attention and interests into their transactions, decision making and executive orders. Although there focus is to stay out of the negative public eye they are in fact hiding the negativity in their character and morality that eventually it will be disclosed and subjected to harshness that begins with rumors and innuendos that are hard to control and elevate into cries of being a dishonest public servant and demands of resignation or removal from office if elected.

Under today’s standards and morality, it has gotten so hard to be a positive leader in such a negative society. Today elected officials, as well as many non-elected bureaucrats come into office with a public presumption they will quickly become just another rotten apple in an already decaying orchard which will happen if the public becomes complacent and allows you to conduct clandestine operations without drawing attention to yourself or your office.

In any situation where there is power and temptation it comes down to fundamental reasoning that if you expect less from others you get less and if you perpetuate the qualities of apathy and greed, you will fall to the same qualities as those around you neglect to take care of business in an efficient and lawful manner and take you down with them.