Should We Expect Politicians to Be Completely Truthful - Book Report/Review Example

Should we expect politicians to be completely truthful? Introduction Politicians are individuals who are elected by the general population usually. They are people who have a control over a certain aspect assigned to them by the senate or the assembly. Every state has a general set of people assigned to it who control the internal and external affairs of the state. These set of people are known as politicians. They are usually involved in processes of executing decisions for the public. Politicians are active in state affairs and influence decisions which are taken generally in the view of the public. It is in the hands of the politicians to manipulate decisions taken in the view of the state. These politicians also play an influential role in changing the thoughts of the general public. This essay would further tell how the politicians manipulate the truth at times and change the thoughts of the general public. It would also provide reasoning as to if it should be expected from the politicians to be truthful always or not. Body Nowadays it is seen that the politicians are the leaders of their states. They are the ones who supposedly lead their states in every kind of situation. Let the situation be of disasters or of good news. These politicians often seem to be lying about whatever is happening in the state and it is seen that because of these lies the general public is suffering. The politicians are one group of people which can be said to be stereotyped the most. The politicians are one group of people which is thought to be a con group which makes false promises to make up their way to the leading position. Moreover these politicians are known to be a group which excels in cheating and corruption. Politicians can also pose a negative and positive stereotype. It is dependent on the individual attributes that the politician possesses to make up the stereotype. For politicians it is said that they are ‘cleverly dangerous’. By dangerous here it is meant that these politicians tend to lie from the people. Politicians should not be completely truthful in the sense to protect the secrets of the country because they know things which ordinary people should not know. If they are telling each and everything to the general public i.e. relating to the things happening in the country which should not be told to the people it would create havoc. Things which are usually not in their control and are told to the public it would rather create a serious situation for the politicians and thus would make the control of the country more difficult for the politicians. If a country is going through a crisis it is better to hide it from people to avoid an air of panic until or unless it becomes necessary to tell the public. However it should also be noted that if a politician is not true and his hiding facts that should be known by his people so they can cooperate that will create an air of disbelief and insurgency. It would further invoke the people to disbelief the individual and he would lose the trust of his own people. This distrust would cause the politician to lose his strength in the global world too as none would like to trust a person who is rejected by his own people. Moreover a politician should know as to which facts should be hidden from the general public and which should not be. If a politician is not truthful to the society and duties he may cause the downfall of the nation because of his carelessness. Politicians tend to lie to the general public because they want the safety of the general public. It has now become a trend to see politicians lie on their promises and agreements. At times it is also seen that the politicians lie because the people are not ready to hear the truth about things. It can be clearly seen from the recent elections that politicians who give false hopes and make false promises seem to excel more in the field of politics, whereas the politicians who speak the truth tend to get slower and swifter in excelling in that very field. An example can be cited here of the 1988 presidential election in which Bush made promises to the public of exempting all taxes when he won whereas his contender Dukakas spoke the truth of raising the taxes if he won the elections. And the elections were won by Bush as expected because of his false promises and hopes. However in the next elections it was clearly cited by the general public that all that was happening was a lie and a deficit had to be cleared upon by the government thus an increase of taxes was clearly visible. Thus in the next elections the citizens were ready for the truth and Clinton was widely acclaimed as the next president. If the politicians do not lie about the calamities that are occurring in the country it would create havoc amongst the general public usually it is seen that politicians seem to lie about the figures of calamity that occur during a disaster. But this is only for the betterment of the public and if this is not done the public would be the one who would be harmed. In third world countries during such calamities if the exact figure of the deaths is shown it creates a huge havoc. A recent incident of a third world country can be cited here which took place in the state of Pakistan. A bridge collapsed in the city of Karachi which created disharmony amongst the general public of Pakistan. And the people there took off on the streets. These people then harmed government and private property causing huge losses to both the economy and the people living in the city. Such a situation could have been avoided if the collapse of the bridge was covered upon by the politicians and government officials. Thus at times the politicians have to lie in the betterment of the society and the general public. The politicians at times also have to lie on meetings with foreign bodies because if these private sessions with the foreign bodies are exposed to the general public then it might do bad to the politicians image and the countrys image. Similarly the politicians cannot always speak the truth because of the fact that truth may lead to harm to the general public. If the politicians lie this makes them break their promises which they did to the general public. People expect truth of the politicians when they elect them. But if the politicians lie, they are actually hiding things from the people who got them elected. Moreover, at times the situations would get so worse in which the politicians have to tell the truth to the general public in the end. And if the truth is told to the general public in the end the results would be more disastrous. The general public may not be willing to sacrifice themselves for a leader who lies. They may not build the same trust and faith in the politician again that they had in him previously. If a politician lies about introducing new legislations regarding the salaries of individuals and he does not fulfill it later on it would again cause a great havoc and disbelief in the general population. Moreover, many politicians lie to get the power they may have after being elected by the general public. They have a strong perception that they may take necessary steps only if they have the charge of the country. They try to persuade people to vote for them. They convince them by making false promises and things which they would never allow. Their view is to get on the first step at whatever cost and prove their credibility by taking wise steps after become the Prime Minister. They know what general public want, the security of their lives, families and a better life with more comforts. They know how to attract people by promising tax deductions, higher profits, more employment options and better living standards. However, once elected, they give out a few logical reasons for not acting upon those promises. However, the politicians who follow this strategy clearly ignore that the foundation build upon a lie can never hold up a solid structure. Eventually, it will lead to distrust and people will not want to elect that politician in the next election provided that his performance and steps do not facilitate the public at all. At times the politicians also seem to lie for their own monetary gains. These politicians can be termed to be very disgraceful towards their society. They do this by lying about things which are only known to them and the government officials. For e.g. the politicians may lie about the budget. And at times these politicians may also lie about the budget that has been allocated to certain areas. The politicians can tend to show a wrong budget figure to the relevant authorities and keep the rest budget for themselves. To do this at times these politicians tend to bribe the other officials which are involved in the covered heist. In third world countries like Pakistan and India it is known to be very common for the politicians to keep a commission for themselves in the budget that has been allocated officially by the government. On the other hand another important reason for the politicians to lie is to give away their vote bank. The politicians may lie about things which are unpleasant to a general set of people. If the politicians do not lie about the specific aspects they would end up losing the votes and thus losing their elections. Thus usually it is seen that the politicians tend to lie to save their seats for the elections in the future. It is widely seen all over the world that the politicians lie in the preliminary sessions arranged for the presidential race. The politicians in these sessions make promises to the general public as to what they will do when they come into power. However most of these promises are false and lies to gain the votes of the general public. The promises done in these sessions are done for increasing the vote bank of the politicians themselves. Similarly on the other hand it is not necessary that the politicians only lie about the bad factors affecting the country. At times the politicians also lie about the good factors. This is done only in the view of the betterment of the country as if these good factors are exposed to the public they may not become that successful. Nowadays every country has a series of threats from other countries which may not let the country prosper. Thus keeping in mind the involvement of foreign bodies the politicians cannot expose everything to the general public so that their goals are successful. Some politicians also tend to lie because of the power that they have been given. These politicians know that they cannot be harmed no matter what the situation is and hence they tend to lie to the general public just to improve their image. It is also seen that usually the politicians are from a single family tree. Politicians belonging to a single family lead in the field of politics and usually win the elections. And these politicians who have been elected from a single family tree do not fear lying to the general public because their image is not destroyed or whatsoever. Most of the politicians probably believe that they need to tell the public what they want to hear. The general reason for such a move is to get more votes and win the elections, enjoy and use/misuse the power. It is true to some extent that people go for false but pleasant promises rather than horrible truths. It is sensible to believe that Obama would have failed the elections if he had revealed the truths about his intentions and motives. It can be seen that if Obama told that he would pay for the programs through the national debt his popularity would have definitely decreased. Moreover, McCain could also have said that Mitt Roomney was a better choice over him but he did not. Thus he was not giving the whole truth to the general public. Politicians usually do not admit ther mistake if they commit it these days. By mistake here it is meant that they do not usually accept if something happens because of their mistake only. An incident here can be cited of the president of America in 2001 in which Bush was the president. After the attack on World Trade Center, Bush never admitted his mistake regarding the attack. He never agreed to be partially responsible for that attack as because of the weak defense of the United States of America such an attack took place on the world trade center. But on the other hand only a completely truthful politician can bring good to the country as he would be true to his duties for the country. The duty here refers to his duty of telling the truth to the people whether it be a bad truth or a good one. He would be true to the feelings of the nation with which they voted for him to get elected. He should know that he represents his country in front of the whole world. They are the leaders of the nation and a true leader depicts the identity of a true nation. If a politician is true towards his duties and is doing them well it will automatically urge the people and his followers to follow him and do their duties as well. And this would further take the country to the height of skies. Politicians should be completely truthful because the people who got them elected and brought them the grace and position expect them to be true for the purpose they have been elected and to fulfill the expectations of the nation. Being true here means that the people should be kept aware of the things that are happening in their country and what the politicians are doing in regard to those things. They should also be notified as to how far they have been successful and what is left to be done regarding the situations which are taking place in the country. Similarly in case things go the wrong way the politicians should also clarify the situation to the general population. In this case if the politicians are truthful to their general public they would understand the calamity of the situation and lend a hand to the politicians in the hard times. The politicians should be strong enough to face people in such a case and inform their people of the wrongs that they have did and what needs to be done in such a situation. In this way the people would be informed of the intensity of the situation and it would make people support the politician in such a time. This help would make sure that the crisis is avoided before it spreads farther and causes devastation not only to the politician but the nation also. Talking about trueness it does not mean that the politician should wander around spilling the secrets of the country because these secrets are very important for the sovereignty of the country. The politician however should tell the people of the nation that there are certain things which cannot be told to them because of their own benefits. The people should be told that they are not told these secrets just to protect the interests of the country and for the better defense and safety of the nation. Politicians should be true to the general public because they are supposed to make decisions on which depends the whole future of the country and if they are sincere enough to think that they will do what takes there country to a new era not thousand years back to the Stone Age. Usually if the politicians do not tell the truth to the general public then he may lose votes and respect in their eyes. If the politicians do not tell the truth to the individuals and if some calamity arises because of the lies, the politician would not be helped by the general public if the truth is not told to them beforehand. Similarly if the politicians tell the exact nature of the problems that the country is facing to the general public, the general public would also help the politicians in overcoming the problems that the country is facing. Conclusion It can be seen that the politicians who lie and who do not both have their pros and cons. Politicians who tell the whole truth tend to give out a lot to the general public which should not be told to them. And politicians who lie tend to keep a lot from the general public which should be told to them. These politicians also tend to make false promises to gain the votes of the general public. Whereas the politicians who usually do not lie give the whole picture to the general public and they make the general public the judge of everything that is happening in the country. In my opinion it should not be always expected for the politicians to be truthful. This is because at times such situations arise in which these politicians have to lie for the greater good of the society and the general public. The politicians should have both the capabilities i.e. of speaking the truth and also to hide things from the general public which should be hidden. The politicians should have the capability of distinguishing the things which should be kept from the public and which should be not. And thus a perfect politician would be the one who is balancing both these things in the modern world in the greater good of the society. Bibliography Phillips, Melanie. "Why Do Politicians Lie? Because They Have to - Both the Tories and New Labour Make Impossible Promises." The Spectator. (2003): 28. DAVIS, MICHAEL L., and MICHAEL FERRANTINO. "Towards a Positive Theory of Political Rhetoric: Why Do Politicians Lie? " Public Choice. 88. 1/2 (1996): 1. Ford, Charles V. Lies!, Lies!!, Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press, 1996. "The Character Factor: How We Judge Americas Presidents." Presidential Studies Quarterly. 34. 4 (2004): 894-896. Philip Havers, Q. C., and N. Sheldon. "Politicians Promises and Abuse of Power." JUDICIAL REVIEW -CHICHESTER-. 5 (2000): 96-99. Levin, Murray Burton. Talk Radio and the American Dream. Lexington, Mass: Lexington Books, 1987. Lakoff, Robin Tolmach. Talking Power: The Politics of Language in Our Lives. [New York]: Basic Books, 1990. Miller, J. D. B. Politicians; An Inaugural Lecture Delivered at the University, Leicester, 25 February, 1958. [Leicester, Eng.]: Leicester University Press, 1960. Read More