Where does this sense of entitlement come from?
I'm in awe of those in "public service" who see absolutely no problem in ripping off the public. How do they justify it to themselves? Do they even recognize what they do is wrong? I'm reminded of Gov. Corzine's inaugural speech, when he came down hard on the corruption in New Jersey government, and those with the most ethical lapses got all offended and basically said, ''How dare he?!''
Wayne Bryant spent a few hours a week reading newspapers at UMDNJ, then took a $35,000 salary and benefits for it. That's not really any different from the Operation Bid Rig guys who had no sleepless nights about accepting envelopes stuffed with wads of cash in exchange for promising their help in getting bids. What went through their minds at that moment? What did Bryant tell himself that let him think it was OK to do this?
Whenever I read one of these public-officials-gone-bad stories, which come out waaaaay too often and from every level of government, I'm always floored by the absolute gall of these people. Maybe I'm too honest. If I get too much change handed to me by a cashier, even a few cents, I hand it back. One time a busy cashier wouldn't take the money back, so I threw it into a Humane Society canister. It's not mine. Why can't these politicians think like that? Maybe each day the Legislature meets, it could start off with just one minute of a group mantra: "The money is not mine. The money is not mine. The money is not mine."
Wayne Bryant spent a few hours a week reading newspapers at UMDNJ, then took a $35,000 salary and benefits for it. That's not really any different from the Operation Bid Rig guys who had no sleepless nights about accepting envelopes stuffed with wads of cash in exchange for promising their help in getting bids. What went through their minds at that moment? What did Bryant tell himself that let him think it was OK to do this?
Whenever I read one of these public-officials-gone-bad stories, which come out waaaaay too often and from every level of government, I'm always floored by the absolute gall of these people. Maybe I'm too honest. If I get too much change handed to me by a cashier, even a few cents, I hand it back. One time a busy cashier wouldn't take the money back, so I threw it into a Humane Society canister. It's not mine. Why can't these politicians think like that? Maybe each day the Legislature meets, it could start off with just one minute of a group mantra: "The money is not mine. The money is not mine. The money is not mine."
5 Comments:
Accountability at every level of government is lacking. Those who steal from the public depend on the short memories of the average citizen.
In New Jersey there has been no fear of criminal investigations for so long that the people who steal have no fear. Christie has changed some of that and maybe Rabner will be part of a one-two punch. We will see.
Government departments are also run with little or no oversight. I have kept track of the scandals in the Department of Corrections over the past 10 months and am amazed that no official investigations have been undertaken that would clean up this $1.3 billion business. Again , maybe Rabner will make a difference.
When checks and balances fail , government fails. In New Jersey there are no real checks and there is little balance.
"Do they even recognize what they do is wrong?"
I don't suspect they give much thought to issues of right or wrong -- until they are caught, that is. In that respect, our corrupt politicians are merely a microcosm of our much larger society.
Our culture has changed dramatically over the course of our lifetimes. (I am in my early 40s.) We Americans have no sense of shame anymore. 30 years ago it was scandalous for an unmarried couple to live together as man and wife, or to have a child out of wedlock. That was something they only did in Godless Hollywood, after all. Now it seems that almost every couple getting married has lived together before approaching the altar. What once was holy is now little more than a contract and a cause for a party. Little wonder that a majority of marriages now end in divorce.
We used to be a religious people. This country was built by folks that feared God and recognized that they were created "to serve God in this life, and spend eternity with Him in the next life." (Remember The Baltimore Catechism, Clare?) As a child, I can remember having to stand on line for an hour on Saturday evenings waiting to confess to one of the three priests hearing confessions. This past Saturday, the only people that showed up for scheduled confessions were myself and a couple of suspicious looking women in their 70s -- and this is in a parish of thousands. We have somehow convinced ourselves that we don't sin anymore.
I suppose I shouldn't be surprised by this. Our culture tells us that sin is, at best, a quaint and old fashioned idea. Fear of committing sin certainly isn't something that would deter all that many from doing the immoral. Hell, we can't even agree on what is or isn't moral anymore. A nation of secularists, we now worship at the altar of political correctness, where the first commandment seemingly is not to sit in judgment of others. Who am I, after all, to say that two men shouldn't marry and adopt children? Why shouldn't a woman be able to end a pregnancy in the 30th week? The perverse is now considered "an alternative." What was infanticide a generation ago is now deemed "a choice."
Am I surprised, Clare, that some local politician took a bribe? Not hardly. Moreover, I don't think I will see all too many of these guys standing on the confession line next Saturday afternoon either.
Maybe we could get those "suspicious looking women in their 70s" (that line really made me smile) drag 'em in by their ears.
I remember the good old days of regular confessions ... have to admit, I'm not a regular confessor (my uncle, a priest, gave me a look last time when I said how long it had been since my last confession ... he knows I haven't been THAT good!) but even for those who aren't religious, and these are guys older than you and me who if Catholic, could follow the Mass in Latin. And every single one of 'em, when caught, has all their cronies coming out with "He made one mistake." ONE???? I always laugh at that. What was the one mistake, getting caught?
The posting by "Anonymous" above argues that wrongdoing and shamelessness are rampant. Can't disagree with that. But I'm afraid "Anonymous" is not a keen student of history.
There were periods which were much more licentious than today. Read about life in the 17th and 18th centuries. I think you will be shocked.
They had pornographic plays back then that would make people today blush. Even in the straight-laced 19th century, things like public drunkenness were far more common than today.
"They had pornographic plays back then that would make people today blush."
Unlike the 1,001 free porn web sites that are now available to anyone with a modem, you mean?
"Even in the straight-laced 19th century, things like public drunkenness were far more common than today."
And just how many teenagers, Mr. Fera, were checking into rehab in President Lincoln's day because of, say, an addiction to crystal meth?
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