Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - Politics Corrupted By Conflict of Interest

lofhay · 05-18-2011, 12:27 PM

POLITICS is the term we apply to our system of selecting our governmental
representatives and to their actions once in office. We also use it to refer to the maneuvering for power and control in non-governmental organizations and institutions. Except in cases where a decision is unanimous, it always involves a power struggle.

The subject of politics comes up in our day to day conversation with family, friends and acquaintances because everybody has their own pre-conditioned viewpoint about social, legal and governmental issues.

Politics has been called “the art of compromise”, which, at its best, it is. At its worst, it involves injustice, selfish personal gain, bribery, lying, and about any form of skulduggery the human mind can conceive.

For me, the most critical aspect of politics today has become the polarization of the political parties. Bipartisanship has been relegated to the past. The present is all about which party will gain control in the next election--a struggle over power. Candidates for political office, and the party leaders, all resort to half-truths and innuendo in order to persuade all who will listen to support their particular party’s legislative efforts and candidates. The struggle for power is so pervasive that even those newly elected who start with the best of intentions succumb to the conflict of interest between
what is best for the country and what will get them re-elected. After living in that heady atmosphere of our nations capital for 3 or 4 years and seeing how the old-timers play the game of power, they eventually begin to believe “I can do no wrong” or “I deserve to get whatever I can get for myself”. Nobody says this out loud, but their actions demonstrate it. The corruption of politics becomes a way of life.

I believe that it will take a catastrophe, such as hyper-inflation, before the people unite in demanding that our constitution be amended so as to remove the possibility for anyone to make a career of political offices and we again have only true statesmen running for office. Maybe, if enough of us shout louder and often, we can bring about the needed changes before a catastrophe occurs. I am not optimistic.

05-18-2011, 12:27 PM	#1 (permalink)
lofhay Tilted Location: Charleston, SC	Politics Corrupted By Conflict of Interest POLITICS is the term we apply to our system of selecting our governmental representatives and to their actions once in office. We also use it to refer to the maneuvering for power and control in non-governmental organizations and institutions. Except in cases where a decision is unanimous, it always involves a power struggle. The subject of politics comes up in our day to day conversation with family, friends and acquaintances because everybody has their own pre-conditioned viewpoint about social, legal and governmental issues. Politics has been called “the art of compromise”, which, at its best, it is. At its worst, it involves injustice, selfish personal gain, bribery, lying, and about any form of skulduggery the human mind can conceive. For me, the most critical aspect of politics today has become the polarization of the political parties. Bipartisanship has been relegated to the past. The present is all about which party will gain control in the next election--a struggle over power. Candidates for political office, and the party leaders, all resort to half-truths and innuendo in order to persuade all who will listen to support their particular party’s legislative efforts and candidates. The struggle for power is so pervasive that even those newly elected who start with the best of intentions succumb to the conflict of interest between what is best for the country and what will get them re-elected. After living in that heady atmosphere of our nations capital for 3 or 4 years and seeing how the old-timers play the game of power, they eventually begin to believe “I can do no wrong” or “I deserve to get whatever I can get for myself”. Nobody says this out loud, but their actions demonstrate it. The corruption of politics becomes a way of life. I believe that it will take a catastrophe, such as hyper-inflation, before the people unite in demanding that our constitution be amended so as to remove the possibility for anyone to make a career of political offices and we again have only true statesmen running for office. Maybe, if enough of us shout louder and often, we can bring about the needed changes before a catastrophe occurs. I am not optimistic.