Done and Dusted

Seems like New Zealand's favourite politician of the day, Aaron Gilmore, has finally done the decent thing and buggered off. Not a moment too soon. One lie and attempt to deceive after another. It was handled very badly by the government, I believe, but no major surprises there. Anything to avoid making a stand on anything. Cutting Aaron Gilmore loose would have shown some integrity, but then they were at risk of losing their majority in the House. Paychecks before pride, it would seem. So instead, they chose to publically discredit him to the point where staying in Parliament was no longer an option for Aaron Gilmore. Essentially they bullied him out. No honour in that. Job done in the end, but a bit of a cowardly way to go about it.

One could ask, why all the fuss over one person ? What's one overinflated salary in the grand scheme of life ? Hasn't the government got better things to focus on ? Well, of course they do. And with an annual budget in the billions, NZ$200+k of illgotten gains per annum isn't going to make any noticeable difference. But should that be a good enough reason to abuse public money ? A lie is acceptable if it's only a little lie ? Exactly where do we draw the line between right, wrong, and accountability ? One person gets away with it because the global effect is negligible. Rubbish. That opens the door for the next person, and the next. We are all accountable as individuals for our own actions, that's called basic human decency. Doing the right thing because it's the right thing, not trying to get away with whatever you can because it's not worth anyone chasing you. Public office behaviour need a Zero Tolerance policy. It's the only way they learn.

I am a firm believer that when a person decides to enter into public office, they forfeit many of the rights of normal people like the rest of us. They are required to hold themselves at a higher level, as they are the face of the masses. It's not like royalty, who have no choice when it comes to their public scrutiny, public office officials have made a choice to enter the arena. No one held a gun to them. For the most part, that choice is motivated by the prospect of personal fame and extra money. Not all, but that's the motive for the majority. So for the most part I don't buy into the rubbish of them doing it for public good. I didn't cut Bill Clinton any slack over his grubby antics as President. He wasn't "just like the rest of us", a "normal human being who made a mistake". He chose to take a position where his word had to be beyond question. He chose that role. Once he was shown to be lying, no one could ever automatically accept what he was saying again. There was now a shadow of doubt hanging over his words which you could never take away. And that isn't acceptable for a global leader. With Great Power comes Great Responsibility. Thankfully, you and I can deal with the many slips we make along the path of life. We get extra tolerance because we choose not to have a private jumbo jet and a bullet proof limousine.

Aaron Gilmore was not the resident of the United States. Actually, he's unlikely now to be the president of the local chess club. But he still chose to take a role in public ofice, and that placed a higher level of personal responsibility on him than on us regular folk. Given that he is still mouthing off, after the flogging he received over the weekend, I doubt that he realises that. I read today that he is now sending threatening messages to various people who rightly spoke out against him. That's basic internet rule 101: Never say anything that you don't want the rest of the world to know about. Good job that he's gone.