Fall From (Self-Imposed) Grace

"...we need people who are in office who will hold themselves to a little higher standard."

Oct/07 - Sen. John Ensign to Sen Larry Craig after discovering that Craig's involvement in a sex scandal.

"I think [Rep. Bob] Livingston's stepping down makes a very powerful arguemtn that Clinton shoudl resign as well and move beyond this mess."

Dec/98 - Senator David Vitter arguing that an extramarital affair is grounds for resignation.

"This was a sophisticated and lucrative operation with a multi-tiered management structre. It was, however, nothing more than a prostitution ring, and now its owners and operators will be held accountable."

Apr/04 - then Attorney General Elliot Spitzer after uncovering a prostitution ring in New York.

"The issue of lying is probably the biggest harm, if you will, to the system of Democratic government, representatives government, because it undermines trust. And if you undermine trust in our system, you undermine everything."

Feb/99 - Governor Mark Sanford on the President Clinton's sex scandal.

"Voters want leaders, particularly a president, who they trust and who they think is a good person. ... If you are a person of faith, i think it adds weight to that issue of whether you are a good person."

Nov/03 - presidential hopeful, Senator John Edwards to the Washington Post on values.

Then there is Mike Duvall, Assemblyman from Yorba Linda, California who has become a Youtube sensation by divulging his sexual exploits to a colleague on a "hot mic" in an assembly meeting. Duvall, dubbed a "crusader for family values" revealed all the details of affairs he (allegedly) had with a lobbyist from the Sempra Energy Group. The 54 year old was recently voted into an ethics committee to ensure his colleagues didn't engage in such immoral behavior.

The sophmoric braggadicio of men of power is nothing new. We can trace back to biblical times and see the exploits of King David and his unethical affair with Bathsheba that ended in murder. My desire is not to judge these men but highlight the hypocrisy that they spew in the public sector. Democrat, Republican, Right-winged, Left-winged, Liberal or Conservative all of these men have donned the robe of judgement with regards to other's actions.

I feel that regardless of your place in life, when you decide to pass judgement on others, you are opening yourself and your mistakes to scrutiny. Now why on earth would people who live in the thinnest and fragile glass houses be the first to throw the largest and most damaging stones they could find. I find it reprehensible to stand before people perched high on a moral pedestal while knowing full well that your foundation is weak.

Understand that I am not advocating a silent approach to impropriety. I'm not at all suggesting that men of power should just keep their mouth shut and not pass judgment if they are dipping in the cesspool of morality. I am saying that we all owe it to ourselves to look deeply into our own lives before admonishing others.

Those who know me intimately are fully aware that I have not always walked the path of rightesnous. I have not and will not always be a man above reproach and of good standings. We all fall down. The bible speaks of a just man falling seven times and getting back up again... a just man. I am fully aware that God's grace is sufficient which is why I am quick to forgive and very slow to condemn. Do not take this entry to be a public chiding of the public chiders I illustrated earlier. I am just illuminating the fact that the world is so far from black and white. All issues must have a middle ground. I am a devout Christian who strongly believes in family values and the importance of self-sustainment. However, I can understand the plight of an atheist who happens to be gay. I can also empathize with a high-school dropout who finds it difficult to find a job. Disagreement does not have to equal condemnation. Tolerance does not necessarily equal comprimising my beliefs.

We have all been placed in the uncomfortable position of elevation. Whether it is from a spouse, children, friends or co-workers we have all been showered with accolades that immediately humbles even the most egotistical narcissist. When indulgence becomes self-indulgences and eminence is self-imposed we can find ourselves floating over very dangerous ground. No one should be comfortable with being a self-appointed anything. No one should utilize the mistakes of others to advance their careers or status. God (or fate, I choose God) has a way of kicking us off those pedestals of vanity in the exact manner in which we climbed them.

I pray that our leaders will understand that leadership is actually a subordinate role in our society. We are more than happy to follow the person who shares our morals, ethics and virtues as long as that person sticks to the script. The problem is that so many have become so drunk with the illusion of power they are willing to be deceitful and judgmental to gain it. The funny thing about any illusion is that once you learn the secret behind the trick, it just seems to lose its luster. The worst phenonemon a power-hungry castigator can experience is the realization that he is no different than anyone else. Worse still is when everyone else does.

Politics... No Place for Classrooms???

“No president, Republican or Democrat, should interrupt the educational process in this manner," Kern said in a press release issued Thursday. "President Obama is always in the news, so there is ample opportunity for students to see him."

These are the remarks from Sally Kern, a Republican Representative from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. These remarks are also from a woman who is the state coordinator for the America's Legislators Back to School Program, a program that invites legislators into classrooms across America to speak to children about the political process. Same person.

Confused? So am I.

Let me start by saying I never wanted this blog to be political in nature but this is way too far. I keep my political beliefs separate from every other facet of my life to a certain extent. I am more moderate than I am anything but I am a registered Democrat. Yes, I voted for Obama. Yes, the fact that he is black influenced my vote. The fact that he is qualified was the reason I voted for him.

I wanted to get that out of the way so that the reader will understand the nature of my comments and where they are coming from. I find it reprehensible to suggest that the President of the United States of America speaking to the youth of America is anything but a wonderful idea. Even if these kids don’t agree or understand with our President’s remarks, isn’t it a good thing for them to go home and speak to their parents about the event? Isn’t this the type of round the dinner table discussions we crave in this country? Interrupt the educational process? I remember when I was in school, the President would block all of the channels on television and we would utilize his speech the next day in the educational process. The very worst are those who have the audacity to parallel this event with Hitler Youth and Nazi Germany.

The very thought that people in this country are so brainwashed that they believe that the President has the ability to brainwash their children is appalling. In order for my children to be brainwashed they would have to be completely unaware of the sound of my voice. After all, am I not their first influence? Sure there are other influences and stimulation but shouldn't I insist that I am one of them? I can remember having a mock debate during school the year that Reagan/Bush and Mondale/Ferrara were battling it out in the primaries. It wasn’t during a high school government class; it was during a third grade history lesson. Were we being brainwashed by a teacher who wanted us to experience first hand the political process in this great country of ours?

I don’t agree with everything our President does, of course, I still don’t agree with everything my mother does. I refuse to demonize either of them. I think it was a progressive move for the President to enter the classrooms on the first day of school and re-enforce what every parent in America should have been telling their kids anyway. If explaining to your kids that doing their best and working hard to get the things in life they desire is advancing a political agenda, then my question is – how can I be of assistance?

I mean seriously. It seems to me that everything our President does is put under a very uneven and disproportionate amount of scrutiny. This is too much. This has nothing to do with left, right, democrat, republican, liberal, or conservative. This is the most unique opportunity ever witnessed in this country and it should be celebrated. Has it occurred to anyone that the fact that no sitting President has addressed students on a national level is not a good thing? Shouldn’t we be appalled that the President thinks so little of the population of our country who is not of legal voting age that he would not consider that they too are Americans? Is it wrong for our national leader to address the importance of education on a national level?

Finally, I must address the fact that during the atrocities of 9/11, then President George W. Bush was not in the oval office or addressing the National Press Club or even sitting in the Rose Garden preparing a speech, no he was reading The Pet Goat to students at Emma E. Booker Elementary School. I don’t criticize his actions at all during this faithful day. I am not one to say what someone should or should not have done in a crisis situation. I do, however, find it egregious that the fact that he was there was not a headline before the attack. George Bush is not the only president to interact with the youth of our nation, Ronald Reagan delivered a speech to junior high students telling them “These days, whenever I see foreign leaders, they tell me about their plans for reducing taxes, and other economic reforms that they are using, copying what we have done here in our country.” in 1988. Where is the outcry over this obvious attempt at advancing a conservative agenda?

The national stage has always been textbook of sorts for students. During school hours I witnessed the inauguration of Bill Clinton, the spaceship Challenger exploding, Nelson Mandela becoming the President of South Africa after 27 years imprisoned, the Rodney King riots, the Waco Texas compound incident and many others. All of these events were used by public school teachers to offer real-world lessons about the real world.

My kids witnessed the President’s remarks and more over we discussed those remarks and what they meant. This is the role of a parent. For those who insist that the government should not be involved with education should really consider the extent of their own involvement.