Power Corrupts

Guilty

At 84, Stevens is currently the oldest and longest serving senator in the Senate. At some point early on, I imagine, he was an idealistic young man who found the idea of public service appealing. Admirable, yes, and worthy of praise. But I never met that idealistic young man. The only Stevens I have ever known is the angry old man who, with his definition of the internet as a series of tubes, is clearly out of touch with the current generation. That, however, was not enough reason for me to judge a man I do not know. It turns out that I didn't have to pass judgment - a court of law did that for me, convicting him of failing to report gifts he took; gifts that were probably used to buy favors for his friends. I don't feel bad for him. I don't think anyone will. He's served the state of Alaska for so long, I would not be surprised if he received a pardon from Bush. He definitely won't be serving any jail time, that's for sure.

The lesson? Power corrupts. He was in the Senate too long. So long that the once idealistic young man I imagine him to be has long departed and left only the man that was convicted in court. You can tell he was in power for too long because his testimony at his trial was that of a man who had a sense of entitlement that only a man corrupt by power could feel. At first, I considered making this post a People Who Should go Away. I thought that was too harsh and considered it for the /Facepalm of the week. But then I realized that I wasn't angry at him like I usually would be. Instead, I felt sorry for him. Perhaps its because I worry for my own future. Will my capacity and desire to do good be compromised by the power I will have to yield in order to serve the public? Is it an inevitable catch-22 situation? It probably be best to just aspire for bureaucratic positions and avoid public offices all together.

Anyway, this is relevant because the Democrats are eying 60 in the Senate and it worries me. As I mentioned, I will continue to hope for change, but only up to the point where I will not be devastated if that change doesn't come.