Dangers of Power
Congress is a place of power and influence far beyond the laws they write and money they appropriate. It is an institution of our government that has grown in prestige and complexity over the long history of our country. Whenever an institution becomes this entrenched in tradition and the virtues of the status quo it looses the ability to police itself. Members of the club become little more than functionaries protecting the institution as a whole rather than acting as moral individuals. The longer a person lives inside such a structured world the harder it is to act out of ones own conscience and do the work originally assigned to you.
The Mark Foley scandal is representative of this problem of power acting to maintain power, rather than serve the public need. Foley has been in the House of Representatives for 12 years. In that time he worked for tightening laws against the very abuses he now all but admits to. How many times was he congratulated for offering solutions while in his private life he was part of the problem? What turns anyone into this kind of predator is very hard to say. All we know for certain is that these broken people exist and trusting stereotypes to see them can cause us to be blind.
Many people were blinded by Rep. Foley’s public image. How many good people worked close with him every day without ever suspecting. I’m sure he’s a good liar. He wouldn’t be in politics otherwise. There was a list of people that did have the information to look beyond Foley’s lies. They include (not surprisingly) his chief of staff Kirk Fordham, Foley’s colleague Tom Reynolds, and Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert. As time goes on and the investigation continues it is likely that more people will be exposed that knew of Foley’s indiscretions. A secret of this magnitude takes a lot of help from people in positions of power to keep hidden. Should we really be surprised that the system acted out self-preservation? These individuals acted to protect the institution of the Congress and the integrity of the Republican Party over the well being of several young boys.
It is striking the similarities between this scandal and the far reaching scandal faced by the Catholic Church. A small number of priests committed terrible crimes but when it came time for disclosure it was the institution that took charge. The protection of power by those able to cover up the truth became more important than the needs of any individual. When we see the same failures in different types of institutions it begs the question: What is wrong with those systems? What is the problem with an institution that allows people with a sickness of behavior, like Foley, hide behind men of power like Hastert?
12 years is a long time to be in the halls of power. This is how long Foley retained his seat until resigning last week. 20 years is how long Dennis Hastert has been serving in the institution of the U.S. Congress. How long does it take for a person to become beholden to the power they weld? For each person it is different depending on his or her nature. If power corrupts then shouldn’t we do every thing in our power to limit individuals exposure to such power? There is something we can do to help our specific representative from being corrupted by the system they serve. Send them home before they get too comfortable in Washington. Legislated term limits shouldn’t be necessary if we, as voters, are doing our part. Everyone that serves in government starts with visions of service. Most politicians, when left without oversight, end up serving themselves and the institution that gives them power. Could you or I restrain ourselves from such temptations? It is up to us to save our representatives from themselves. The best way to keep our politician from being corrupted is by sending them back home. Limit their stay inside the halls of power that taints the heart and spoils the dreams of youth.
We live under a system of government that is powered by “We the People”. When government fails we then must take some of the responsibility. It is time we paid more attention to our roll in government. If not for ourselves or the future, do it for the politician. Help save them from the seductions of power by sending them home before they do something we all will regret.
The Mark Foley scandal is representative of this problem of power acting to maintain power, rather than serve the public need. Foley has been in the House of Representatives for 12 years. In that time he worked for tightening laws against the very abuses he now all but admits to. How many times was he congratulated for offering solutions while in his private life he was part of the problem? What turns anyone into this kind of predator is very hard to say. All we know for certain is that these broken people exist and trusting stereotypes to see them can cause us to be blind.
Many people were blinded by Rep. Foley’s public image. How many good people worked close with him every day without ever suspecting. I’m sure he’s a good liar. He wouldn’t be in politics otherwise. There was a list of people that did have the information to look beyond Foley’s lies. They include (not surprisingly) his chief of staff Kirk Fordham, Foley’s colleague Tom Reynolds, and Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert. As time goes on and the investigation continues it is likely that more people will be exposed that knew of Foley’s indiscretions. A secret of this magnitude takes a lot of help from people in positions of power to keep hidden. Should we really be surprised that the system acted out self-preservation? These individuals acted to protect the institution of the Congress and the integrity of the Republican Party over the well being of several young boys.
It is striking the similarities between this scandal and the far reaching scandal faced by the Catholic Church. A small number of priests committed terrible crimes but when it came time for disclosure it was the institution that took charge. The protection of power by those able to cover up the truth became more important than the needs of any individual. When we see the same failures in different types of institutions it begs the question: What is wrong with those systems? What is the problem with an institution that allows people with a sickness of behavior, like Foley, hide behind men of power like Hastert?
12 years is a long time to be in the halls of power. This is how long Foley retained his seat until resigning last week. 20 years is how long Dennis Hastert has been serving in the institution of the U.S. Congress. How long does it take for a person to become beholden to the power they weld? For each person it is different depending on his or her nature. If power corrupts then shouldn’t we do every thing in our power to limit individuals exposure to such power? There is something we can do to help our specific representative from being corrupted by the system they serve. Send them home before they get too comfortable in Washington. Legislated term limits shouldn’t be necessary if we, as voters, are doing our part. Everyone that serves in government starts with visions of service. Most politicians, when left without oversight, end up serving themselves and the institution that gives them power. Could you or I restrain ourselves from such temptations? It is up to us to save our representatives from themselves. The best way to keep our politician from being corrupted is by sending them back home. Limit their stay inside the halls of power that taints the heart and spoils the dreams of youth.
We live under a system of government that is powered by “We the People”. When government fails we then must take some of the responsibility. It is time we paid more attention to our roll in government. If not for ourselves or the future, do it for the politician. Help save them from the seductions of power by sending them home before they do something we all will regret.
posted by kamuizot at 10:40 AM
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