A Matter of Honor

Will I seem naive if I say that as a candidate for Congress this year I think somewhere between now and election day we ought to think of the honor of our government?

And I don’t mean the kind of “honor” expressed by wrapping oneself in the flag and pledging eternal loyalty to a President.  What I mean by honor is a commitment to the truth and to a dignified way of behaving.

I have been sorely disheartened by the lack of civility in Washington.  The arrogant  manipulation of intelligence in the run-up to our invasion of Iraq, the cover-up of pedophilia, the sleaze of negative advertising all give me the distinct feeling that Congress is more akin to a cesspool than a house of government.

I say this because it is not just the policies of my opponent and his party which I oppose, but the entire way in which business seems to be conducted in government, from the influence peddling on K Street to the theft of billions of our taxpayer dollars in Iraq.

Somewhere along the line, I would like the new voices which seem poised to join the Washington scene  to keep the honor of government firmly in their hearts.  There is room for debate on every issue.  There is room for compromise as our nation moves forward.  There is room for criticism and discussion.  There should also be room for civility, truth, fair play, and honor.

Without it, I fear that very little of the public’s business will get done.  And since the issues are so titanic and the world so short of time before the petulant neuroses of our species end this experiment in survival, I thought I might just mention the word.

For what it’s worth…