Political Deviance - Coursework Example

Political Deviance Political Deviance Political Deviance is a form of white collar scandal (Simon & Eitzen, 2002). This implies that it is a deviance committed by a person of high social status and respectability in the course of his or her duty. Political deviance is usually perpetrated by government officials and politicians who have attained notoriety as a result of their publicized engagement in corruption and other scandals. These scandals range from abusive management of funds belonging to the public to election improprieties. Both are aimed at furthering personal gains. Political deviance can also mean the use of unethical or illegal means to attain, retain, or enlarge political power. It is the higher immorality and has its roots in the governmental search for power and profit (Simon & Eitzen, 2002). It is a rational solution to the barriers or problems that stand in the way of these politician’s aims. The following seeks to look into the various aspects of political deviance and also explore its overall effects. The paper also looks at the accepted practices and policies in curbing this deviance. The last section of this study offers a projection on how political deviance will be treated in the next ten to twenty years. During political deviance, responsibility is denied by referring to actions as mistakes (Cepernich, 2008). There is also victimization through dehumanizing victims. Higher loyalties are invoked then condemners are condemned. It can be demonstrated in cases of extortion, bribery, or kickbacks. Political deviance is seen internationally in the actions of the CIA, that is, in war crimes like Mai Lai massacre and the Vietnam genocide (Cepernich, 2008). In the United States, for instance, the notorious Watergate scandal rocked the United States back in 1970s. Upon the occurrence of any political deviance, numerous effects are felt by both the affected society and culture. Political scandal being unethical and morally unacceptable in any society, it has to be dealt with accordingly. Engaging in political deviance attracts allegations of political bias (Cepernich, 2008). This activity is commonly more harmful both socially and even economically. Most state deviances are restricted to the actions of people of the highest social status. They involve tactical exploitation of the powerless members of the society by domination of the economy, engaging in crimes of government control, and abuse of human rights (Cepernich, 2008). It results in vast amounts of injury. The significant effect of any form of political deviance is that it undermines public trust. In the United States particularly, the citizen’s faith in their government is severely dented when political deviance is reported (Hagan, 2012). This implies that political scandals taint the public servants with an over inflated sense of distrust, which stretches to all the corners of the state and beyond. It delivers all the manner of cynicism about the politicians in question. For this reason, political scandals such as corruption in the United States cause devastating effects on the politics of the state. It gives the voters every reason not to have trust in their elected officials (Hagan, 2012). Additionally, it makes these voters believe all manner of worst arguments that are made by people about their political leaders. The citizens of the United States can never view the politicians involved in political scandals the same way again. These scandals continue to echo throughout their minds and even to the new generations in the political spectrum (Hagan, 2012). The citizens, therefore, continue living in the era of such deviances. Political scandals also pose a challenge to the Democrats (Miller, 2008). This is because Democrats normally believe they would be beneficiaries of such scandals. Unfortunately, the deviance may sometimes bring down these politicians. As a result, the scandal generates a high level of distrust among the public. This in turn poses challenge to the Democrats. At the most primary level, Democrats argue that the politicians and the government provide the best solution to political deviance problems (Miller, 2008). However, if the public has lost trust in the elected officials, these Democrats remain in a position of continuously defending the legitimacy of the government officials. In addition, they are compelled to convince voters that the public officials will do their job (Miller, 2008). Revelations on what politicians do minus public accountability have intensified public distrust thereby creating a strong pushback. Another effect of political deviance to the politicians is that they have to operate in an environment full of investigations (Allen & Savigny, 2012). This is followed by accusations of other scandals that are attached to the major one. Whenever some forms of scandals break, it takes a very short time for the news to escalate. This in turn instigates questions concerning whether the scandal would end up in a bigger one. This outlook often has a salutary impact since it encourages such politicians to ensure similar occurrences don’t happen in the future. However, stories of political scandals take the victim’s attention away from their political roles (Allen & Savigny, 2012). This lowers their performance and, as a result, it creates a political environment in which Americans primarily do not trust politicians. In the end, the politicians are not only suspected but also rejected. Also, it is very difficult for the government to perform its roles and responsibilities for the citizens to restore the lost faith in the same government. This effect is, therefore, not healthy for the society. The impacts of political deviance in the United States have been felt on many levels. The most fundamental of them has been how the news media have been getting involved in the scrutiny of the government (Vatrapu, Robertson & Dissanayake, 2008). From these political deviances, the scandalous politicians get to understand that the media can be active and strong enough to an extent of bringing down a government. In this sense, they get to understand the power of the media. Moreover, political scandals serve as living proofs that politicians cannot operate above the law for prolonged periods of time (Vatrapu, Robertson & Dissanayake, 2008). This comes to reality when such corrupt and scandalous politicians are impeached, made to resign, or face prison terms due to the scandals facing them. It is then that the politicians and the public get to believe that there is equality before the law. Another pertinent impact of political deviance is that politicians have an opportunity to understand the importance of judicious conduct (Vatrapu, Robertson & Dissanayake, 2008). It dawns on them that operating in a manner that is brazen and arrogant is not appropriate. They then learn to be discrete or transparent when dealing with the public. After facing jail terms or impeachment for their political scandals, politicians may stop hiding behind the executive privilege they normally have. They also turn to be more credible and direct when handling public matters. Due to the vast negative effects of political deviance, there is a need to put in place appropriate policies and practice aimed at curbing this evil in the society. In the United States, Republicans have revealed how possible it is for opponents of the deviant politicians to fight such vice (Vatrapu, Robertson & Dissanayake, 2008). Since Republicans also promote the government, their programs have also been subject to regular scrutiny. Additionally, national security programs have played a critical role in dealing with political scandals in this state. Republicans have advocated and pushed for the expansion of the surveillance and interrogation techniques in cases of scandals. Another practice that can be employed to fight this deviance is to set the government and the politicians on a better course (Cepernich, 2008). This entails reforming politics and in order to achieve this, the campaign finance system needs to be improved by dealing with the influence of private money. Stronger restrictions should also be imposed on lobbying. This implies that the link between the lobbying group and the government needs to be broken. This will be a significant start in the war for fighting political deviance. The government also needs to set serious measures for deviant politicians. For instance, the judicial double standard should not be tolerated (Cepernich, 2008). Rather, it should be treated with serious considerations. In particular, in the case of political deviance, the law should not turn in favor of the culprits. This strategy, however, becomes challenging in situations when the political deviance criminals are the same people who are responsible for ensuring that such crimes are eliminated. Therefore, the law should be conned into enduring to such double standards. This is because it has an effect of excessively diluting the integrity and merit of a fair legal system for all, rather than merely the powerful politicians. Corruption among political figures, for instance, as well as any other governmental crime, should not be left to persist in any state. They should not be allowed to experience any form of leniency from the judicial system. Rather, such practices should face charges and very firm rulings made against them. The government should not view any political crime like corruption as a way of life. The judicial system and the society as a whole should not let corrupt politicians appear to be living in an ethics-free zone. Their power should not be left to lead them in their self-serving and avaricious acts of deviance (Allen & Savigny, 2012). At no point should they be left to escape the charges of the law. The vast political power of the political figures should not influence legal decisions. The criminals must be made to face trial and imprisonment for their dangerous and unacceptable misdeeds. These political figures should also not be allowed to influence lawmakers in an effort to escape criminalization, as well as severe sanctions. Every one of us can pinpoint that the problem of political deviance in the United States will lead it into a miserable future if not rectified. However, none of us has the power needed to change the situation in the next period of 10 or 20 years. The future of political deviance, therefore, lies in our hands. If we choose to debate, discuss, and challenge each other, we can remedy the situation. An ignorant satisfaction has been rapidly spreading for so long and appears irreversible. This, however, makes the future seem a dreary and dark place. My optimism, therefore, lies in the idea that we know and understand that political deviance invades our nation. However, for anything to be yielded out of this understanding in the next 10 to 20 years, there are some changes that have to be made. The result necessitates that all of us buckle down and seriously do something. Overall, though I view political deviance to be an overarching issue not only in the next 20 years, but also in the decades that will follow. I do not think that there our current system can offer the state and the citizens with all it takes to curb political deviance. In other words, I believe that the United States may have the will to fight and end the political deviance but a different method of managing our policies is needed. How this can be done remains an extremely complex question, though I believe it can be answered if we pool our minds together and embrace mutual desires for a much better way of life. Political deviance requires individual change of mind so as to stop it. If we as individuals see the need to stop this practice, we surely can do it successfully. It all starts in the mind and the upbringing of children. Most individuals are taught honesty. However, if one is brought up in a world where they have to fight and struggle for what they need, then morals such as honesty will help them thrive in the competitive world. In essence, it would be immoral and dishonest to a one not to legally acquire what he or she needs to survive. Stopping political deviance implies that for us to hope for a better future in ten or twenty years to come, we need to get rid of the reasons why we commit crimes. In particular, people always want honest, fair, just, and ethical, political leaders that they will trust the system by default is an unjust and a corrupt one that cannot be fixed. The system, therefore, has to be entirely dismantled and a new one set up if future hope is to be realized. If the system has reasons to embrace political deviance, then it has to proceed until a just one is identified and implemented. If there are no gains from corruption or abuse of office, then political deviance will not occur. Political defiance only occurs when there is something to gain from it. References Simon, D. R., & Eitzen, D. S. (2002). Elite deviance. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon. Cepernich, C. (2008). Landscapes of immorality: Scandals in the Italian press (1998–2006). Perspectives on European Politics and Society, 9(1), 95-109. Hagan, J. (2012). Who Are the Criminals?: The Politics of Crime Policy from the Age of Roosevelt to the Age of Reagan. Princeton University Press. Miller, R. A. (2008). The Erotics of Corruption: Law, Scandal, and Political Perversion. SUNY Press. Allen, H., & Savigny, H. (2012). Selling scandal or ideology? The politics of business crime coverage. European Journal of Communication, 27(3), 278-290. Vatrapu, R., Robertson, S., & Dissanayake, W. (2008). Are political weblogs public spheres or partisan spheres?. international reports on socio-informatics, 5(1), 7-26. Read More