MODERN POLITICIANS: Contempt and Lack of Leadership

Professional wrestling is similar to politics: both have a storyline that usually involves two groups or factions who use the media as a means to verbally attack their opponents in a public forum. However, once the cameras are gone, the show is over, and nobody is around to cheer, all sides must work together. The big differences though, are that wrestlers make no secret that their public show is for entertainment purposes only, and that they realize that the majority of their audience members see the showmanship for what it is.

As for politics, politicians want their spectators to believe that the show is reality. However, it is difficult to believe that many politicians actually are the same people in private compared to their public personas, or that their political differences are as far apart as they want outsiders to believe.

When the feud between conservative and career Republican politicians exposed the “showmanship over substance” mentality that career Republicans utilize to remain in elected office every election cycle, I realized that the bitterness between these inter-Republican groups is stronger and more believable than the seemingly-staged bickering between career Republicans and Democrats. Also, I had realized that both Democrats and career Republicans probably share the same contempt of their constituents, especially those who question their elected leaders.

Conservatives have been expressing their disgust with members of both parties, especially the GOP, in a manner that is difficult to ignore. And judging by the flippant response from the targets of their criticism, there is a perception that career Republicans view conservatives as unappreciative simpletons who are unable to comprehend the complexities of playing politics.

While those Republicans remain preoccupied with playing politics and thoughts of winning elections, conservatives want to know why those subjects are treated with higher importance than governing within the boundaries of an oath of office.

It is this impression that our elected leaders have disdain for everyone who isn’t them that has caused me to wonder just how those people would answer the following questions:
Are members of the ruling elite repulsed by the thought of their “subjects” questioning their actions?

Are members of the ruling elite amused by the thought that members of the U.S. military choose to act according to, and honor, their oath of enlistment/commission?

Do members of the ruling elite roll their eyes at the thought of the majority of police officers placing the safety and lives of others over their own, and holding their loyalty to the Constitution of the United States over acting as revenue agents?

Do members of the ruling elite believe when many of us pray, it is nothing more than an exercise in futility?

Do members of the ruling elite feel threatened when parents teach morals and ethics, as well as basic knowledge to their children — lessons that run counter to indoctrination in progressive-orientated schools?

Do members of the ruling elite feel as though “the rest of us” have not earned the right to: own property, unrestricted travel, smoke, unrestricted access to food, and other “privileges?”

When the ruling elite recently passed a spending bill that covers the remainder of the fiscal year, did they do so out of fear of the incoming Congress?

And finally, are the members of the ruling elite baffled by the recent decision of four children in Iraq to choose death by beheading, instead of denouncing their faith in Jesus?

By accepting a horrific, evil death over denouncing their belief in Jesus, those four children have shown more courage than almost every politician combined. If an elected official is afraid to take a stand in public that they believe may cost them a favorable approval rating or the next election, perhaps he or she needs a lesson about the actions of four brave children who had much more to lose than an election. The actions of those four children define true character, convictions, and bravery; these qualities are part of leadership, not showmanship.

Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/frstnmnknwn/5821351504/