In recent years, there’s been a lot of debate about standards in public life. However, the bottom line is that ‘we the people‘ will always get what we’re willing to tolerate. Well, I think so anyway.
Think about it.
Simply being sorry:
When we’ve done something wrong, saying sorry is meant to wipe the slate clean. Wouldn’t you agree, dear reader?
We’ll say, “I’m so sorry,” and we might think that it’s sufficient.
For instance, if we’ve inadvertently trodden on someone’s toe by accident, a brief expression of regret is usually perfectly acceptable.
Seeking personal advantage:
However, how about when someone has been exploiting a situation to their advantage dishonestly?
Would a simple “I’m sorry” be enough then? No, I don’t think so.
When this happens, it requires far more than a minor expression of regret, surely?
If someone has been caught exploiting a situation or being dishonest in some other way, we need to see genuine remorse if they are truly sorry.
We need a sense that they’re ashamed of what they’ve done and are keen to make amends.
We need an act that makes it clear that the individual recognizes the error of their ways, surely?
Politics and Standards in Public Life:
Sadly, you’re unlikely to see this from a modern politician.
Rarely these days do politicians have any sense of shame, or so it seems. Integrity and moral values also appear to be lacking in modern politicians.
“I’m sorry,” will readily trip off the tongue of your average politician, of course.
They’ll claim it was a minor indiscretion, a moment of madness, a one-off, or a private matter. However, rarely do we get any sense that they genuinely regret their actions, in my experience.
Their only real regret is that they’ve been caught.
Usually, they’ll try to brazen it out if they think they can get away with it.
However, rarely do we see any genuine remorse. Politicians don’t do remorse; their inflated egos sense only personal advantage at the expense of others.
How people and society behave:
So if politicians are our role models, is it acceptable for the rest of us to behave similarly?
No, I don’t think it is. And I say that simply because, in my opinion, two wrongs don’t make a right.
Politicians may lack integrity and a moral compass, but society would be all the poorer if the rest of us were without any sense of right and wrong. What example would we be setting for our children?
There can be no excuse for bad behaviour.
If politicians misbehave, which they will occasionally do, then their actions should not be considered a ‘get out of jail free‘ card by the rest of us, should we behave in the same way. The right course of action is simply to punish them at the polls.
And having been punished at the polls, those errant politicians shouldn’t be allowed to exploit their notoriety with lucrative media deals.
If any media channel or newspaper thinks it’s acceptable to recruit a disgraced or errant politician, then they, too, should be punished. People should make a point of changing channels or buying a different newspaper.
We all get what we tolerate:
If ordinary people were less willing to tolerate unacceptable behaviour in public life, then it would happen far less frequently, I think. It is a fact that, in my experience, we always get what we tolerate.
Therefore, if we want our public servants to behave with honesty and integrity, then we should become a lot more intolerant of the way they behave.
They behave the way they do because they think there will be few or no consequences.
That is our fault.
We all must ensure that they know differently, that they know we will not tolerate bad behaviour, and that they will be punished severely should they do so.
Take every opportunity to remind your local and national politicians that you’re watching them very closely. And don’t forget, that’s so easy now with all the modern communications tools we have at our disposal.
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