Politics and Ethics

Politics and Ethics

This picture depicts an open book which is about Ethics on a dark background

Politics is the word that we are using every day to describe state affairs, especially economy and foreign policies that touch upon our interests and keep us informed on a daily basis through the state media i.e.radio, tabloids, TV and social media.  According to Webster’s politics is the art or science of government. : the art or science concerned with guiding or influencing governmental policy. : the art or science concerned with winning and holding control over a government. However, politics will surely fail if it not accompanied by ethical norms that are adopted and practiced by all those involved in implementing politics.  

Politics is practiced and implemented by common people who are elected by vote and are evaluated by the citizens of a state according to the abilities and convincing power. Is this sufficient to characterize a good politician who is supposed to serve his country and the people? “The foundation of our national policy will be laid in the pure and immutable principle of private morality”. - Author: George Washington. If politics is practiced by politicians without ethics and moral values  the outcome will be a impunity and corruption, a widespread phenomenon nowadays. The general public who go to the ballot to exercise their voting right should be more conscious as to whom they want to offer their vote. Ambitious political figures should be scrutinized in terms of character and personality and voters should not be carried away by charisma and eloquence. The most widespread words about politics is corruption, bribery, deception, manipulation and unscrupulousness. When this is a proven act, it is comprehensible that good people are not attracted to seriously occupy themselves with politics. A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves and traitors are not victims, but accomplices. —George Orwell.  

It high time to change the way we think about politics and social life as well as the sense of community we want to build in order to establish a better society. The world is changing faster than we can imagine, the means of communication i.e. social media offer increasingly more possibilities and choices. It is becoming inevitable that we need to create an authentic and pure world, a world of solidarity and transparency in all regards. We live in a society that worships success and social status.  In this hectic race toward happiness and the “dolce vita” we have unwittingly been captivated by possessions and material things. What are we supposed to do to avoid such pitfall? We don’t need the Big Brother to check upon us or control and supervise us. What is imperative is to adopt a higher degree of civic responsibility and awareness. We need to understand that we are not just physical beings with only carnal and physical needs and desires. become slaves to money and material goods. 

 

 Above all, we are beings of light with spiritual identity and divinity and mental powers with which we are endowed by our Creator, God, who created us to His image. With such consciousness we understand our role and vocation in this world as contributors in creating a better place for all. But for this to happen we need higher values, virtues that are associated with morality and ethics, faith and understanding. When we practice such a lifestyle then material things become less important and we are not vulnerable to physical pleasures and the pursuit of material satisfaction. We just need to create a good balance between our desires and our daily challenges in order to achieve our goals in life. The pursuit of happiness is not about quantity but quality.