Character counts in politics and public service

Lest the object lesson go unnoticed;

the law as it applies to (powerful) politicians and public servants is inadequate to protect the people’s power and resources from abuse.

The term “higher standards” means higher standards than the law; the lowest standards of conduct acceptable to civilized human beings.

People of character, by definition, expect more from themselves than the law requires and less than the law allows. They accept honest accountability to higher standards of conduct.

Most people believe that politicians and public servants are actually accountable to higher standards of conduct than the law. The rest believe that they should be.

The simple truth is; powerful people with unlimited tax dollars to spend are not accountable to higher standards of conduct. They are arguably unaccountable even to the law. If they can use tax dollars to buy admissions of “no guilt” regardless of their guilt, are they really accountable to the law?

The problem with enforcing higher standards of conduct than the law is that they cannot be enforced in courts of law. That’s why the county sheriff has not produced public records according to the spirit of the law.

Is a county sheriff spending tax dollars on litigation and legal weaselry actually accountable to the law? Is he doing something “illegal”?

Similarly, the Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education cannot be held accountable to higher standards of conduct. They cannot be held accountable for their character.

The superintendent they are about to hire? S/he will be also; unaccountable to higher standards of conduct than the law. S/he will not be held accountable for their character.

So who the bad guys here; the politicians and public servants who exploit weak laws to their advantage, legislators who won’t write laws with teeth, or the people who place no import on character when voting for people in whose hands they will place their power, their resources, and their trust that neither will be abused?