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"Any man who attains a high place among you, from the
President downard, may date his downfall from that moment^
for any printed lie that any notorious villain pens, al
though it militate directly against the character and con
duct of a life, appeals at once to your distrust, and is
helieved„
That, I "believe, is worth reading over again before pro
ceeding. There seems to be wisdom in it.
It is, as Dickens found, a part of our attitude to carry
jealousy, mistrust and malicious gossip into our political
and public life. We seem actually eager to believe something
evil
I have had persons of apparent good sense assure me that
all (not just a few) grand juries are crooked and bossedj
that judges are appointed because of some deal| that
Governors are in fact thieves and without any shred of honor^
that Presidents are pigmies of judgment and honor.
These persons see a "fix" in every act, an "angle" to
every decision, a "payoff" in every contract.
The fact there so often is proves only what Dickens noted
long ago - that our attitude "breeds up" the sort of person
who is willing to endure all that, or to practice it, to ob
tain the majority of votes.
It explains why, too, there are not more so-called "good
men" who offer themselves for office.
Dickens is right and we deplore it. Yet we know that most
of the so-called "good men" who might otherwise offer them
selves to the electorate simply lack the courage required.
Politics deteriorates - where it does - for lack of courage
and integrity.
In our political system there must be the willingness to
"take it." The man who wants to be of service must figure
on criticism and abuse as part of the price we must pay to
maintain our system.
