Domestic_Politics_-_Gray_America

Domestic Politics: The Gray America George Washington in his farewell address printed September 22, 1796 in the Daily American Advertiser states, “Of all the disposition and habits, which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable support... Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect, that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle” (Washington, 1796). Morals and having principles of ethics create the core foundation on which this country was founded and was an important aspect for the founding fathers. What would George Washington say upon seeing the current condition of America' As ethical misconduct and corruption among political representatives adversely affects America’s view of its Representatives and the moral state of the country. Politics viewed as a means to serve country and people. A shining beacon, which the world and fellow citizens see the best of America but in recent years our armor became tarnished by self-serving laws and misconduct on a grand scale. Arrest and political scandal abound revealing corruption that has changed the face of America, creating recoiling distrust and shame for the people who acknowledge these public servants as representatives. America, woven together by the words in the Declaration of Independence authored by Thomas Jefferson later debated and adopted by Congress on July 4, 1776 giving birth to a nation and a political system where Representatives rule by the proxy given to them by the people. Men numbering 56 whose biographies disclose character traits such as integrity, courage, forward thinking, the dedication to country and service to the people. More importantly, these men held firm to a sense of justice and morality rivaling the pious nature of the saints. Men with religious convictions birth this nation. Morality, ethics and God resonates in the undertones of the documents authored by the first Congress. Although it was not mandated that religious acts be written into law in the Constitution it was the convictions of religious men who set the country on the path to greatness. These men in essence, the first politicians appointed chaplains to perform duties for Congress and the armed forces, proclaiming national days of prayer and fasting. The politicians in Congress said to the citizens of America, “make us holy, so that we may be a happy people.” (1774 Congress, 2003) Congress and the Senate take an oath to honor the words written in the United States Constitution. Words of few numbers have such weight as these 14 uttered by Representatives: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the Constitution of the United States.” (1779 Congress, 2003) Honor as defined by Webster’s dictionary means: “having a good name or public esteem, a keen sense of ethical conduct.” (House, 2001) To honor a country, should not a man first honor himself' Instead, the seeds of misconduct yielded fruit when in 1798 Representative Matthew Lyons of Vermont assaulted a representative. In 1838, dueling representatives resulted in the death of a member at the hand of William J. Graves. The first case of corruption in the House was Orsamus B. Matteson when in 1857 he sought payment for his vote on various issues. Clear rules for ethical standards for representatives and government employees implemented in 1958 in the Code of Ethics for United States Government Service (Code) which states “Put loyalty to the highest moral principles and to country above loyalty to Government persons, party, or department… Uphold these principles, ever conscious that public office is a public trust. (Ethics Committee, 1958) The Code conveys principals of morality that persons serving the government should follow. Rather than provide a means to stem the flow of corruption the Code highlighted issues of transgressions. Acts of misconduct have occurred under the watchful eyes of the American public but also in sight of law enforcements as in the Abscam Investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) resulting in criminal prosecution and convictions of House members and senators who accepted bribes from FBI agents’ undercover seeking favorable dealing for foreign nationals. (Roberts, 2001, p. 141) Many are unaware of the 1959 case in which the Supreme Court ruled the Constitution prohibited individuals from suing officials and public employees for damages occurred while performing unrestricted acts as part of their duty, in essence giving those who fall under cover of this law absolute immunity from lawsuits. (Roberts, 2001, p. 3) Political scandals have throughout history served to cause issues of mistrust and disdain among fellow citizens but none more apparent than in the following cases examined in the book Political Corruption in America (Grossman, 2003) and recent news reports. Table 1 Corruption and Misconduct Name Year Corruption and Misconduct Results Executive Branch Bay of Pigs 1961 Invasion of Cuba rebels trained by United States Increased tension in the cold war Richard Nixon Watergate 1974 Conspiracy Resigned, later pardoned Herman Tallmadge 1978 Accepting gifts in the amount above $43,000 Not re-elected House Banking Scandal 1992 Overdrafts in the House Bank involving 450 members Convictions HUD Scandal 1990 Kickbacks totaling $5 million for contracts, influence-peddling by congressman and mismanagement Convictions, later over turned through presidential pardon Michael A. Battle Department of Justice 2007 Cocaine distribution Resigned and convicted Rob Blagojevich 2009 Selling Obama’s Senate seat Arrest(case ongoing) However, one case stands above the before mentioned cases in the table. Infamous words echoed across the Nation and the world when in his State of the Union address President Clinton uttered these words, “I did not have sexual relations with that woman…” (Clinton, 1998) The people and the United States Government waited for President Clinton’s definition of the words sexual relations. During the period following then President Clinton’s misspoken words to the American people began the decline in his approval rating and a ripple effect in how young people and teenagers viewed oral sex. Abusing the power and trust given by the American people to their representatives in cases of political misconduct or scandal create a backlash of diminished trust by the American people. Amidst financial scandals, failing businesses, air-marks and misconduct by the 111th Congress in a report published January 2009 proclaims a 19% approval rating average for 2008. (Saad, 2008) The Association of Government Accountants (AGA) discovered from research conducted by Harris Interactive in January 2008 reports that taxpayers in the United States have an attitude of mistrust in government official, be they members of Congress, the Senate, State or Local official. Equally, the (AGA) reports lack of opacity and answerability in government management of financial issues. Americans are disappointed with the level of honesty or rather dishonesty in its representatives. (Accountants, 2009) Morality is a standard of conduct accepted as right or proper. Ethics is a system of moral principles governing the appropriate conduct for an individual or group. (House, 2001) Morals reflect the character of a people but ethics shines a light on acceptable behavior within a social system. In 1978, the Ethics in U.S. Government Act passed implementing rules for financial disclosure created the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, the Public Integrity Section of the Department of Justice and added restrictions for lobbyist. Gaps in the Ethics in U.S. Government Act of 1978 made the Ethics Reform Act of 1989 necessary adding further restrictions to the behavior of government employees including members of the House and the Senate, yet Congress in 1999 without debate silently allowed the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, the foundations for ethical behavior in government to expire. In neglecting morals and justifying the immoral, society sinks to the lowest common denominator; Representatives looked to for excellence serve to highlight human flaws. In the words of Aristotle, philosopher and student of Plato in profound statements on morals and ethics he proclaimed, "Moral excellence comes about as a result of habit. We become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts….A man without ethics is a wild beast loosed upon this world." (Aristotle, 60BC) In this sense, the Representatives of the county must revert to the nature where service to the people has more weight than service to self and the highest good with ethics and morals at the core depicts the needs of the American people providing strength to this union and “We the People” are reflected in the standards of our Representatives. References Accountants, A. o. (2009). AGA Survey Paper. Alexandria: Association of Government Accountants. Archives, N. (n.d.). The Charters of Freedom "A New World is at Hand". Retrieved March 10, 2009, from The Charters of Freedom: http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration.html Aristotle. (60BC). Nicomachean Ethics. Athens. Clinton, B. (1998, January 26). Clinton Denial . Committee, E. (1958, July 11). United States House of Representatives. Retrieved March 10, 2009, from United States House of Representatives: http://www.house.gov/ Grossman, M. (2003). Political Corruption in America:An Eencyclopedia of Sscandals, Power and Greed . Santa Barbara: ABC-Clio. House, R. (2001). Webster's Universal College Dictionary. New York: RHR Press. Roberts, R. N. (2001). Ethics in U.S. Government: An Encyclopedia of Investigations, Scandals, Reforms, and Legislation. Santa Barbara: Greenwood Press. Saad, L. (2008, May 14). Gallup Poll: Approval of Congress . Retrieved March 17, 2009, from Congress' Approval Rating : www.gallup.com Senate, U. S. (n.d.). United States Senate. Retrieved March 1, 2009, from United States Senate: http://www.senate.gov/index.htm Standards, C. o. (2009). Committee on Standards. Retrieved March 11, 2009, from Committee on Standards: http://ethics.house.gov/Default.aspx Washington, G. (1796, September 17). George Washington's Farewell Address. Retrieved March 19, 2009, from About.com: http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/blgwfarewell.htm