Political figures today are not allowed faults. There once was some sort of seperation between a politician's personal life and his political life, but now to get into office one has to be saintly and pure as the driven snow. This is troubling. It is as if to be in politics one must, from an early age, be disproportionately, and often falsely, virtuous to even have a slight chance of gaining political power.
Why is this the case? Why allow virtue to trump intelligence and even competency? Where is the separation between job and personal life? Bill Clinton almost got impeached for getting a little head, yet Aaron Burr shot and killed Alexander Hamilton and still completed his term as VP.
I go to a deeply conservative college that houses the over privileged C students who will go to law school for the express purpose of becoming a politician. I see about half the pre-law students grooming their image daily to make a good public face for the future congressman they believe they will be. This grooming consists less of getting good grades and more on making connections, so that they will be able to breeze trough with the help of friends in high places. They know that this is the way to get elected to political office while exerting the least amount of effort.
This trend of selecting leaders who are little more than pretty political personas and ignoring those with intelligence or competence is destructive,and I worry that it is spreading. I ask you not to support a politician you "would like to have a beer with," but one who is actually qualified for the job. Not the one who most colosely shares your political ideology, but one who will implement their chosen ideology most successfully.
A beer is not a political tool. It is a private matter between the person having the beer, and the beer itself. We should not allow it to be made into anything more.
Why is this the case? Why allow virtue to trump intelligence and even competency? Where is the separation between job and personal life? Bill Clinton almost got impeached for getting a little head, yet Aaron Burr shot and killed Alexander Hamilton and still completed his term as VP.
I go to a deeply conservative college that houses the over privileged C students who will go to law school for the express purpose of becoming a politician. I see about half the pre-law students grooming their image daily to make a good public face for the future congressman they believe they will be. This grooming consists less of getting good grades and more on making connections, so that they will be able to breeze trough with the help of friends in high places. They know that this is the way to get elected to political office while exerting the least amount of effort.
This trend of selecting leaders who are little more than pretty political personas and ignoring those with intelligence or competence is destructive,and I worry that it is spreading. I ask you not to support a politician you "would like to have a beer with," but one who is actually qualified for the job. Not the one who most colosely shares your political ideology, but one who will implement their chosen ideology most successfully.
A beer is not a political tool. It is a private matter between the person having the beer, and the beer itself. We should not allow it to be made into anything more.
