I'd go easier on the politicians. Are they really any more prone to lie than the engineer or the carpenter? Their sinfulness just more visible. Seems to me we would not have the commandment "don't lie" unless we were /all/ tempted to do just that.
On Jul 2, 1:40 pm, frantheman <[email protected]> wrote: > Germany will be having a general election in September and campaigning > is in full swing. The relation between politicians and the truth > becomes ever more tenuous. Two examples: > > 1. German troops have been involved in Afghanistan for the past 7 > years. The growing power and aggressiveness of the Taliban, even in > quieter Northern Afghanistan where the Germans are based, have lead to > an increase in the numbers of soldiers being killed. It isn't making > the German military presence in Afghanistan more popular at home. The > German defence minister is steadfastly refusing to call the situation > a "war", primarily because he's afraid that this would have a negative > effect on his party, the Christian Democrats, in the coming election. > The trauma of WWII is still very deep in the German psyche, and the > idea of Germany being involved in a war is simply anathema to many. > > 2. Both the Christian Democrats (under Merkel) and the Liberals - both > of whom hope to form a coalition together after the election - have > categorically ruled out any possibility of tax-hikes after the > election, even though Germany's budget defecit has been rising sharply > as a result of measures to combat the financial crisis. Polls suggest > that 78% of the electorate don't believe this promise - indeed, almost > half believe that some tax increases are both necessary and inevitable > in the next four years. The most amazing thing is that this is having > no effect on their voting intentions - it looks like the CDU and the > Liberals (FDP) are going to win. > > So ... the electorate doesn't believe what the politicians are saying > and will vote for them anyway. What a sad mixture of helplessness and > resignation! Or is it true that a country gets the politicians it > deserves? > > Francis --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Minds-Eye?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
