Monday, January 12, 2009
Politicians
Every other November and all throughout the election season, millions of Americans struggle with questions of public and private. Many struggle with what factors they should take into account when voting for public officials or judging the performance of politicians. Should the physical health of a politician be a factor? Should a personal affair ruin an effective politician’s legacy or career? Should the personal views or values of a public official get more publicity than his platform? These are all important and complicated questions that have no real right answer. For the purposes of this essay, we will deal with only the politician himself and his individual decisions, not his family or associations as the scope must stay concise. The private will be defined as the politician’s very closest private matters, not family or co-workers. The public will be defined as the voters and general public, including the media. Not surprisingly, Americans have many different views on the issue of privacy regarding politicians. Time and time again, the private matters of elected officials manage to find their way into the public and change everything. Many Americans seem to worry that the private troubles of politicians may influence public policy—something that is often a very real possibility. The troubles of elected officials often serve as distractions and obstacles that detract from both the message and effectiveness of a politician. By running for office does a politician forfeit his privacy? To this question there seems only one answer: all is fair in love, war and politics. No matter how compartmentalized a politician may be, there will always be a part of the private that slips into either the public or the public policy of the politician; in both cases the effectiveness and message of the public official are greatly affected. If the private is always taken into the public, then there will be no influence on the effectiveness or message. The personal and private matters—things such as health, personal views, and choices—of a public official have every right to be broadcast in the public sphere because they may have consequences for the public at large.
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2 comments:
wow--I am sorry for that ridiculously long "paragraph"--my bad!
Philip,
In general this is a strong start. I especially appreciate the way in which you raised the issue and clearly related it to the general theme of the class. I don't think that you need, in the opening paragraph, to get into the question of how you define or delimit your terms. Save this for the body of the paper. You also mention "different views," but don't really lay out the different positions. I think that would strengthen your own argument. The thesis material is what in my opinion goes on too long. Limit yourself to a brief clear statement of what you think and why. You need to make sure that your reader is focused on the argument that the private lives of politicians do in fact influence their public actions.
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