Will there ever be another political leader who dares to tell the truth?

Question

From where I'm standing, all I see are cardboard cut-outs who play games in front of the TV cameras.
Will we ever see another Gandhi, or a Martin Luther King? Somebody who will lay down their life for what's right in the world.

Answer 1

There are always people for whom integrity and honor are not just words, but rather a chosen lifestyle. Unfortunately, these are not usually the people we choose to listen to and they are most certainly not the people we elect. It is a sad reality in this country that we get the very leadership which we vote for and I do not see that changing ever. Politics is a dirty game and even the most honest of people will get tarred by it's dirty brush if they try to effect real change against the status quo.

Answer 2

When a candidate for public office faces the voters he does not face men of sense; he faces a mob of men whose chief distinguishing mark is the fact that they are quite incapable of weighing ideas, or even of comprehending any save the most elemental — men whose whole thinking is done in terms of emotion, and whose dominant emotion is dread of what they cannot understand. So confronted, the candidate must either bark with the pack or be lost... All the odds are on the man who is, intrinsically, the most devious and mediocre — the man who can most adeptly disperse the notion that his mind is a virtual vacuum. The Presidency tends, year by year, to go to such men. As democracy is perfected, the office represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. We move toward a lofty ideal. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron. H.L.Mencken This sounds like a prophetic description of our President today!

We now have "the best politics that money can buy." The men you refer to have all been assasinated for effectively speaking up for what is true or right. Recently those who have tried to say something different have quickly been made to look ridiculous in our corporate media, and those that were attracted to them fall away. I think of Gov. Dean who was destroyed in 2004 by character assasination. Not that he was great, but just that he was knocked down for speaking up. Ross Perot was threatened with the death of his daughter so he withdrew.
You raise a good question in this most important of times. Why don't any one of us stand up? You or me? We are trying here to do so. Maybe Answers will lead to someone standing out enough to raise a voice that will inspire us all.

Answer 3

False morality and hypocrisy make politicians the way they are because if any of them try to tell the hard truth in economics,foreign policy or any other area they will not be elected,so in truth we are the corrupt or selfish ones or at best the naive ones but we have the gall to criticize politicians for doing what makes most people vote for them.

You can't be truthful about the economy
You can't be truthful about islam
You can't be truthful about so many things yet unless you a realistic about a problem you cannot expect to solve it.

So if you want to find the cause for lying politicians look in the mirror...

Answer 4

I doubt that we will see many who are willing to tell the truth. The reason is very simple. Americans hate hearing the truth when it is unpleasant. When someone attempts to tell us something unpleasant, we are more that a little likely to get upset and vote that person out of office. A good case in point is when Bush started talking about trying to SOMETHING about Social Security, the other side jumped all over that and used his words to inflict damage. The result...Social Security continues to be broken and the next guy will know better than to mess with unpleasant information. We get what we deserve.

Answer 5

I DOUBT IT. THIS LAST ELECTION WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A REFERENDUM ON THE WAR. THE DEMOCRATS HAD NO PLATFORM OTHER THEN THEY DIDNT LIKE THE WAY THINGS WERE GOING----AND THEY WON BIG. LIKE HIM OR HATE HIM, THE PRESIDENT SAYS WHAT HE MEANS AND MEANS WHAT HE SAYS. A PERSON MAY NOT LIKE THE MESSAGE BUT THERE IS LITTLE DOUBT ON WHERE HE STANDS. THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A GOOD ATTRIBUTE BUT AS HISTORY HAS SHOWN FOLKS DONT'T WANT TO HEAR THE TRUTH. PIE IN THE SKY HAS ALWAYS BEEN A GREAT WAY TO GET ELECTED AND WILL CONTINUE UNTIL EACH ONE OF US FIGURES OUT WE ARE NOT THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE AND THE GOOD OF THE NATION IS MORE IMPORTANT THEN WHAT CAN WE INDIVIDUALLY GAIN OUT OF IT. TAKE A LOOK AROUND THE WORLD FOR AN HOUR OR TWO. RESEARCH THE PROBLEMS FACED BY THE REST OF THE WORLDS NATIONS. MOST OF OUR PROBLEMS PALE IN COMPARISON. THE PERCENTAGE OF FOLKS ON THE POOR SIDE OF THE LEDGER IN THIS COUNTRY IS REVERSED IN THREE QUARTERS OF THE REST OF THE WORLDS POPULATIONS. THINGS CAN ALWAYS BE BETTER FOR US ALL. BUT SOME PERSPECTIVE IS NEEDED FOR AN ACCURATE PICTURE. "WAFFLEING" HAS BECOME A POLITICAL ARTFORM WE, AS A PEOPLE, HAVE DEMANDED OF OUR LEADERS. THEY HAVE LEARNED TO WATCH THEIR BACKS BECAUSE OF THE POLITICAL BULLETS HEAVED AT THEM IF THEY ACTUALLY STAND FOR SOMETHING. LIEBERMAN LEARNED THAT LESSON. BUT THE PEOPLE IN THAT ELECTION ACTUALLY SHOWED SOME CLASS AND REWARDED A MAN WHOSE PRINCIPLES WERE MORE IMPORTANT THEN CURRYING FAVOR WITH HIS DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP. DOESNT HAPPEN NEARLY AS OFTEN AS IT SHOULD ON BOTH SIDES OF THE AISLE.

Answer 6

Probably not.

If Churchill was alive today, and his pitch was

"We are facing a period of severe austerity. Due to the amount of debt the Govt has, taxes will have to go up, you will have to all wait longer for your pensions, you cant buy a house because if we build lots current house prices will drop, your wages will stay low due to immigration, thats if you keep your job after all the businesses bought by foriegn companies"

Would you vote for him? Most of the current population wouldnt because as long as drink is available & Big Brother is on TV their world is fine....

Answer 7

i do not ignore that many don't look after Rand Paul's some distance good postitions, yet i imagine he might want to be honest about his positions. He particular is giving that filibuster a run for this is money now. Thank God

Answer 8

do you really think there has ever been one who told the truth?! if so you are living in la-la land....mlk was an adulterer...that means he lied about his vows to his wife and his religion...it also makes him a human being and human beings are fallible. the same for ghandhi...he was married and had several children and was a barrister (lawyer) for sometime but left his wife to pursue his non-violent ideology...the point being no human being is above lying, none are totally honest and all are just that human....if you expect perfection in the politicians of today because of what you perceive as perfection in others then you are basing your expectations on untruths. that being said human beings as fallible as they are do great things despite their short comings and all should be judged not on one particular instance of their lives or one act but as a whole....all of them including politicians.

Answer 9

Lets see, you want someone who will say and do the right thing even if he went against the "polls" and the "media"---seems like we already have someone doing that and the press still wants to crucify him.

Answer 10

Certainly not in the UK,,all our politicians have no backbone and just mince about trying to look good