When Was Politics Not a Dirty Word?

Most American view politics as a dirty job.

Majorities say the political process is dominated by special interests, flooded with campaign cash and mired in partisan warfare. Elected officials are widely viewed as self-serving and ineffective.

This quote is from a September 2023 study by the non-partisan Pew Research Center.

While corruption and dirty politics have existed for centuries in the governing of America, there was a time when the science of policies was viewed as an ethical profession.

Noah Webster captured the language and definitions used in 1828 and it is close to the language used in our Declaration of Independence of 1776 and our Constitution of 1787. This is how he defined politics:

Politics

POL’ITICS, noun The science of government; that part of ethics which consists in the regulation and government of a nation or state, for the preservation of its safety, peace and prosperity; comprehending the defense of its existence and rights against foreign control or conquest, the augmentation of its strength and resources, and the protection of its citizens in their rights, with the preservation and improvement of their morals. politics as a science or an art, is a subject of vast extent and importance.

That is a star-high goal, but what might happen if the majority of Americans used that as a definition of politics?  Would they vote for the status quo or demand ethical politicians?

Who today thinks politics and politicians are ethical?

We need to bring about a change!

 

Dave Kluge

Author of The People’s Guide to the United States Constitution. The book  presents the original texts of the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Bill of Rights and all amendments, with enough background, examples, and definitions to easily understand and read straight through these documents.

The People’s Guide was inspired by a 1992 Presidential debate. The three Presidential candidates seemed to contradict each other on Constitutional issues and the author was shocked to realize that, even with his background as the Legal Director of a U.S. based international software firm, he was not familiar enough with the Constitution to determine which candidates, if any, were telling the truth.

 

 

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