Last night I found myself watching the ethical dilemma series What Would You Do? This show is disturbing on many levels – but it’s a good reality check. There comes a time in everyone’s life where a decision must be made that has the potential to have both a positive and negative repercussion attached to it. We see this in politics quite often. Today, let’s see where our moral compass, not as a nation lands, but where we personally land.
If you bumped your car into another car, but nobody saw you do it, would you leave your name and address?
You’re having lunch with three people you respect and admire. They all start criticizing a close friend of yours, not knowing she is your friend. The criticism is distasteful and unjustified. What do you do?
A co-worker tells you in confidence that she plans to call in sick while actually taking a week's vacation. You are approaching a huge deadline and need him on the job. What would you do?
Those are kind of easy but Lisa Ling says America can be inspiring and beautiful – it can also be dark and ugly. Let’s see if she’s right.
You’ve just been elected to the Senate. You are spending your days trying to learn the ropes and the players. Your schedule shows a full day but you just received word that a debate is taking place in 15 minutes. You franticly begin researching the topic. A colleague comes in and says “Don’t worry about that – it’s already decided we’re voting yes’. Do you stop reading about that bill to carry on with your original jam packed schedule?
You are pro-life but your colleagues are not. They are willing to co-sponsor one of your bills for your no vote to defund Planned Parenthood. Your bill is important to all of your constituents. What would you do?
Before you were elected to office, you hometown (which you now represent) was receiving Federal Aid to improve downtown. This caused tons of excitement for tourism was going to go up and more jobs would be seen. You ran on the promise you would not take a dime in Grants b/c you knew the government has a spending problem. Time to vote – What would you do?
The left’s horrific rhetoric and fear mongering has started a political culture war. Both the right and left represent passionate people and both sides are referring to the other as untamed beasts. You, on the other hand, understand both sides – do you speak up or do you go with the status quo?
A little harder?
Politics is an ugly business but politicians and their backers are in the game to make a difference. It is the ‘difference’ some seek that we have an issue with. That issue leads to arguments, passionate arguments, because politics matter.
This morning as we read more news from Washington’s players, the unions and pundits alike, pointing fingers at each other and spewing more rhetoric, keep in mind 2 things. First, politics has always been ugly:
§ In 1800, Thomas Jefferson hired writer James Callendar to assail incumbent president John Adams’ weight and sexuality. He did so with a vengeance.
§ Davy Crockett publicly accused Martin Van Buren of wearing a lady’s corset (you can’t make this stuff up), thus impugning his sexuality.
§ It’s all but certain that Rutherford B. Hayes stole the presidential election of 1876, which was initially won, both in the popular and electoral votes, by Samuel Tilden.
§ The 1828 election between Andrew Jackson and John Quincy Adams featured Adam’s supporters attacking Jackson’s wife’s morality and suggested bigamy, and Jackson’s supporters calling Adams a “pimp” and claiming that his success as a diplomat was due to his ability to procure women for other ambassadors during negotiations.
Secondly, before you pass judgment, ask yourself one question: What would you do? Don’t concern yourself with what they should do. Put yourself into their position and circumstance and then pen a quick letter and let your representative know. Passion is everywhere and as such we must act and react from reason and intelligence. The best way to do that is to answer the question What Would YOU Do.
