I find it humorous to hear people talk about the culture of corruption in our society, and aim that concern only at government, as if the amount of corruption the private sector which overwhelmingly outweighs the misdeeds going in government, didn’t cost the average citizen much more. It does. The rape we constantly take in gas pricing, insurance premiums, the added cost to goods and services linked to what corporate buyer had to be greased, the overcharging we contend with in the health industry, with the cost of prescription drugs, all of that costs the people much more than what goes on in government.

We are justified in fighting any war on corruption at government because doing that is just and appropriate. But let’s not forget that most government scandals involve someone in the private sector cashing in. That’s where the big corruption exists. The lens on corruption needs to open much wider if we want to get rid of the “culture” of corruption.

I say put them all away, not just the corrupt politicians but also the executive types that bait those officials into doing wrong so that they can both profit at our expense.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsaTElBljOE

But it wasn’t Joe Doe that did that, it was Joe E, Commissioner Joe E. That makes a big difference.

That difference doesn’t make Joe Doe’s behavior any less corrupt, even if nobody calls doing all that corruption, and it is. It just means that elected officials are expected to live up to higher standards. Can’t do that? Don’t run for office.

But if you do, and if you are elected, then you cannot be the kind that takes bribes. Or that sells votes. Or that even comes close to it looking that way. For damn sure you can’t be plugging your teenage students and getting them pregnant.

We’ve lost touch somehow with the basics. When people elevate you into elected positions of authority, when they give you their power and trust you to use it on their behalf, you owe them much better behavior than what goes over as just OK for the average citizen. And for sure you owe it to them not to break the law.

Joe knew all of this and he failed to do it anyway. His sentence does not undo his wrongs. The harm is done and no sentence can do that. All that his sentence can do is punish him. But it can also serve as a warning to all the other elected officials. This is what happens to you when you forget what is expected.

Joe E. betrayed a trust that he swore to never break. He took an oath. Instead he did to the people what he did to that student so many years ago. Whatever good he might have done, none of that matters anymore. His wrongs outweigh his good deeds. In his story we see the anatomy of disgrace.