People say... all politicians are corrupt and tell lies and never keep promises, etc. etc... In other words: all politicians are bad. They are never good.
These negative views about politicians have been gaining more and more public airing in the past several years and this negativity is, to begin with: NEGATIVITY. And such negativity is directly about our basic democracy and system of government.
This began, I think, during the time when Republicans gained control of Congress and began to vote as a block and often blocked legislation for which some compromise might have been found. This was, I think, the Newt Gingrich era and it was a turn away from American federal democracy towards a modified form of parliamentary democracy. The modification being there was no "votes of NO-confidence" resulting in new elections (as in Great Britain and other parliamentary democracies) and there was no monolithic opposition party as Democrats did not vote, at least in those earlier days, as a block and a blockage.
SO -- the American democratic system became more and more divided and grid-locked and just plain NASTY.
The nastiness has grown into probes of the personal lives of politicians and suspicions about politicians using the system for their own personal gain. In other words - politics has become personal. AND the personal nature of politics supports the idea that individuals act firstly for their own individual and personal interests. Personal politics often does not and will not look at the big pictures of the needs of the many. Personal politics will look for the needs and support of some effective and loyal few with the knowledge/evidence that fewer and fewer people vote in elections and so an active minority can win control of the system/government.
It was a minority of voters nationwide who voted in our current President. An old view of the American democracy which worried about the "tyranny of the majority" has changed into a modern problem of the "tyranny of the minority". Interesting?
To return to the point about corruption and bad morals and unethical behaviours being attributed to all politicians... I suggest the following:
Firstly - "all and never" are usually exaggerations.
Secondly - few people are squeaky clean.
Thirdly - and MOST IMPORTANTLY --- Being grossly grungy... doing bad things out loud and shamelessly is THE PROBLEM TODAY.
The current President and many in his administration lie, lie, lie... With impunity and out loud and with apparently few consequences. I rather think he lies more and is more corrupt then other politicians if for no other reason then if he is corrupt like all politicians then the usual hidden political corruption is there and then added to that is the gross, public, and shameless corruption and lies he tweets and asserts.
Trump said, before getting elected ... he could get away with shooting someone in Times Square.... And we are seeing that happening. Sad.
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