In Defense of Politicians: Stephen Medvic

A politician leads every country in the world. Whether their people chose them or self instated, they are the engines that keep governments going. In an ideal world, every politician would be an exemplary human being, with so much power its important to be able to trust those who wield it. Regrettably, they are not always perfect people. There have been hundreds of scandals involving politicians all over the world, some more well known than others. In todays day and age living in such a technologically connected era, political scandals are coming to light more now than ever. With social media everywhere and with hundreds of people literally walking

Americans today tend to consider politicians as corrupt and untrustworthy figures. Political corruption can vary from bribery, money laundering, and even drug trafficking. These criminal actions are typically taken by politicians as motive to gain a personal benefit. Politicians have often associate their campaigns with dishonesty. Over the years political campaigns have lied to the public in order to gain votes. Tactics include newspaper manipulation to dishonor a political rival or to obtain support helping their personal agenda. This bad stigma associated with politicians tends to diminish citizens trust. The image depicted in this assignment is intended to target the issue of politician’s dependability with in the public. The image used in this essay was obtained from Brian Montopoli’s article entitled “Lying politicians: A fact of life”. Brian Montopoli is senior political reporter for CBS News website. Montopli’s article was about the lies politicians make in their campaigns in order to gain votes. The image used in Monotopil’s article was utilized to emphasize his argument. Montoplis’s image demonstrates the problematic issue surrounding political officials. The image seemed like it didn’t have a specific target, but once reading title of the article connected with the image it was made clear that the image represents the troublesome issues with politicians in today’s society. The argument being made with the image was that certain political officials might lie to the

Setting higher standards for those persons in positions of authority and power over the public establishes a prescribed set of standards for which the public expects to be upheld if authorities are to successfully exude their power and authority over the people. Williams and Arrigo state “Along with power comes an increased responsibility to use it in appropriate ways” (2012). As can be seen in current events, when officials abuse the authority by excessive use of force, kickbacks, or unethical or immoral behavior, the public loses trust and respect for the system as a whole, not just for the individual or individuals in question. An expectation of increased morality and value is expected in persons holding positions where the enforcement of laws, societal values and morals are rendered. Williams and Arrigo further state “…with the presence of increased power, discretion, and thus opportunity, the need for morality increases considerably”

His willingness to listen and engage, coupled with action (doing what he said he would do) clearly set the stage for open dialog and support. He also realized that he needed to clearly communicate his goals and vision, which in-turn gained him buy-in from the department and external entities. He was also a student of “politics”, and demonstrated his prowess in the example given in the text when he was building a new precinct (Cordner, 2014). He realized there would be political and community pressure with this decision, so he made the argument by presenting facts as to why it needed to go where he wanted and left the decision in the hands of the community and city leaders. He did not “play politics”, but allowed the system work by following the principle of political

In our nation’s history we have had some great politicians who not only did their duty in their office, but cared about the people they were serving in office. But in today’s society, we don’t really see that anymore. We see politicians doing whatever they have to, to win over their people, instead of caring for their needs. Many politicians go vote within party lines, which just causes more problems than it helps! Not only do we see this in our leaders but we also can find it in the people interested in politics or care about the future well-being. We see many people, when it comes to issues important to them just going with the side that they are told benefits them rather than finding out what is best for them on their own. In “Self Reliance” Ralph Waldo Emerson argues that if we are to trust ourselves rather than others, we can be happier than those than conform to how society wants us to live. One point Emerson makes in this work is that. We see a vast majority of politicians conforming to their parties’ ideas rather than going with what is best for their constituents. Our government is probably the most conforming thing we have today in the United States.

Many of today’s politicians dance around their pasts and who they are as a person, this leads to the risk of the people being fooled and voting for an incapable candidate, which could wreak havoc on the government and the country.. It has become an anomaly

Most of the news stories today report on several scandals involving high-profile government officials with corruption being the major criminal aspect. In a news story reported by Thomas, Ryan, Date, and Cook (2009), one brazen crime occurred in Tennessee whereby the then Hamilton County Sheriff William Horace was caught on tape taking bribes. Another case is reported by Wines (2014) whereby Virginia governor Bob McDonnell was indicted on fraud and conspiracy charges. These are the only few cases among several strings of scandals that have continued to affect the credibility of public service. According to Wines (2014), since 2000, there are eight governors and former governors who have been found guilty of crimes. Doss et al. (2013) point out that there are ethical dilemmas that exist in all these cases. In a way, one would be right to assert that it is odd to haul politicians and high-profile government officials before judges and prosecutors. Investigators also have a hard task dealing with such cases especially considering that the persons they are investigating are of high status in society. This has always created fear among investigators because they have to make hard choices. The same case applies to prosecutors who feel that ruling a case in favor of a politician would spark public outcry. However, they

In fact, daily Senate and House hearings can be seen on television and on the web. The fact that Congress has some transparency enables individuals to trust in that institution to some extent. To test my two theories, I hypothesize that individuals who believe (even if minimal) that people can be trusted and that watch news or programs about politics and current events are more likely to trust Congress.

According to an annual survey done by Berlin-Based organization Transparency International, the world’s least corrupt nations in 2013 were Denmark, Finland, and New Zealand. The United States on the other hand landed in 19th place. (Infoplease.com)It’s not surprising to see the United States, land of opportunity, has dropped in ranking. Even every time when we watch the news or political channel, more and more scandals of corrupt politicians are revealed. Based off the citizens for responsibility and ethics in Washington or CREW, a non-profit legal watchdog group dedicated in holding public officials accountable for their actions, about seventeen members of the past congress member were listed for most corrupt. The political scandals we

Do we elect officials to do what is right for ourselves, or to do whatever is better for the country as a whole? On the other hand, do they act in the most popular manner in order to secure their own re-election hopes? The two-party system is in continuous lockout. One party wants reform but another will try to block it just to show the public how incompetent they are without showing the truth. This paper will outline cases why the American Public should trust or distrust the Federal Government.

The evolution of the first American political party system was prompted due to many issues. The people divided themselves because some believed that the new Constitution should have been adopted immediately and the other group objected to that plan and wanted to keep their original Constitution. The Federalists wanted more power in their government, but the Democratic Republicans believed that they needed to be limited when it comes to their government. Federalists coudnt overcome disunity ad more and more movd their support from the Federalists to the

that honesty is the best policy. Yet we often see stories in the news about politicians

Starling (2011), explains the various reasons in which a public administrator uses deception. Public interests and privacy of public figures are justified in withholding information, but outright lying about such is not (p.170). Starling (2011) continues to express, any deception used for personal gain, even if it seems as though others are being put first, is never justified (p.170). However, there are instances when deception is necessary for the safety and welfare of the public. Moreover, a public figure has the right to not disclose certain aspects of one’s life, for everyone has the right to some privacy.

The power of money is at the center of political corruption and even though fraud has been in existence for a long time, in recent years it has become a lot worse. In the past when politicians sought to run for office each individual had to raise a few thousand dollars, businesses in the past were smaller, manageable and the risk factors were minimal. Currently political contributions run in the millions, making Washington a booming business. Most of the money that is raised goes to lobbyist, campaign aids, deceiving PR operations, and pretentious grass-roots groups. The American citizens have felt the repercussion with the political and lobbying establishments who are now in control of the public debates and the policy-making process all for the benefit of the well-financed special interest groups. My paper will focus on how the

In my previous paper, I mentioned that values are as important in our government system as the other functions and political processes are. Unit VI discussed how crucial and vital ethics and accountability is in our government. It also talks about the significance of our own moral code, seeing that public ethics are part of the overall value system, and is culture as well as country-specific. Politicians and public servants especially those in high positions are hailed as models of integrity, and the public expects nothing more but honor and morality from them since they were elected or appointed to that