Collegiate Times

Amongst the many sad traditions in American politics what has consistently been proven to be one of the worst is the seeming need Americans have to make their politicians into moral leaders.  Whether it is Bill Clinton, Anthony Weiner, or Thomas Jefferson, Americans have always shown themselves to be horrified at the prospect of seeing one of their politicians as human.  Though I have always enjoyed the humor and jokes that come out of these absurd scandals, there are times when we must pause and reflect upon the destroyed careers our childlike fetish has caused.

The first point that must be asked is why any of us would even conceive of our politicians having any form of moral compass let alone be fit to be leaders in morality.  I would think that the countless scandals of legitimate proportions (e.g. Watergate, Whitewater, Abu Ghraib, ect.) would have convinced Americans that our politicians cannot be trusted to uphold the laws they swore to protect let alone moral issues subject to interpretation but apparently I am wrong.  The recent attacks on Weiner which once began as funny have now turned disgusting with the entire democratic establishment calling for his resignation.  In light of this, I feel there is a need for us as a nation to readjust the value in caring about the morality of our leaders.

I want my political leaders to do what their job entails.  Beyond this there is no reason why I should care what they do in their personal lives.  So long as they do not break any laws (as Weiner did not) there is no reason that this behavior should interfere with our views regarding their aptitude to serve.  More importantly than this, however, is that I do not want these people establishing themselves as moral leaders.  Given their incompetence in conducting their jobs and their flagrant disrespect for our laws and constitutional principles I would prefer them to not contaminate our intellectual heritage any further.

I can honestly say that I do not care who my political leaders sleep with or what kinds of pictures they tweet.  This may be different from the majority viewpoint but I am simply baffled as to why most Americans would not agree with me.  I do not consider myself to be an immoral person nor a virtuous person but simply a regular person when it comes to moral issues.  In this manner and looking at my own life I often wonder what things about me would bring about the destruction of a hypothetical political career.  By doing this I often wonder if there would ever be a chance of me being elected to any office and remaining there but then I look at my friends, family, and other people I know.  

After doing this I think to myself how none of us really appear to be that different from the other. That with the exception of a few we all do things that are less than virtuous but this does not make us bad people or unfit to lead.

It would benefit many Americans to look at their own lives more often before sublimating their moral shortcoming on our political leaders.  In  doing so I believe that we would all come to realize that we are living in glass homes and so should not throw rocks.  

A version of this article appeared in the Jun 16 issue of the Collegiate Times.