The lasting effects of the financial crisis felt throughout this country have put the spotlight on politicians, and how they manage the people's funds. The blame for most downfalls (falling housing prices, unnecessary military activity, increase in unemployment rates, etc) are usually assigned, rightfully or wrongfully, to the government, a political party, or even an individual in the government. What is amazing, is that even though citizens are quick to look for the problem in the seats that fill the capitols' great rooms, it often seems like they are more willing to spend time griping about the current legislator than researching an appropriate replacement. Furthermore, more often than not the incumbent legislator remains in office through the next election process.
The term "jobbery" refers to the immoral practice of turning public office into private gain. Not only does this mean immediate financial gain, such as through bribes and overcompensation, but also through making a career out of working in supposedly temporary positions. The inability of the people to vote out bad politicians has directly led to the institution of term limits, further establishing that these political seats are meant to be temporary positions. "Politician" was never intended to be and should not be a full-time, life-long career. The ideal politician lived over 2,000 years ago, and embodied civic virtue (check out the story of Cincinnatus). Instead of following this ideal, we allow politicians to bounce around political posts and thereby let jobbery be the norm in our legislative halls.
How can we stop this? We can stop voting for whichever name sounds familiar or has "Incumbent" next to it just because it feels safe. We must take the precious few moments to research the candidates and determine who will best represent our needs. It may be the incumbent, it may not. Check out these sites for help on finding out what is going on with the government:
votesmart.org
thomas.gov
issues2000.org
There are plenty more out there that can be found with a simple web search. Joining a cause is great, rallying for a particular interest is wonderful, but at the very least we all need to realize we have a responsibility to know that we are electing the best possible candidate. With a little work, we can accomplish great things.
-joj-
