Everyone knows how it feels to commit small or even large sins: we know what we’re doing. We evaluate risk vs. reward. We consider the damage that could arise from our actions. And based on whatever decision we make, we are either corrupt or not. It’s that simple.

Problems in our lives arise from corruption from EVERYONE, in EVERY action taken EVERY day. Everything from cheating on our homework to cheating on our taxes to stealing our elections. I don’t need to list any here, and I say this without smirk; we all know what those things are.

Our politicians’ sins are more “sticky” than than the sins of most in that whatever they do directly impacts our lives. With the exception of insanity, there is no explanation other than corruption to account for any decision made against the public interest by our representatives. They are tasked with the very duty of weighing our interests. So, even if those poor decisions are the result of poor judgment, simply, we MUST hold them accountable. That is OUR duty, even if our lives aren’t directly impacted in corruption’s fallout, to account for the lives of our fellow citizens whose lives ARE impacted.

I urge everyone to join me in putting aside the blanket assessment of our government as corrupt long enough to examine every official we elected. We have every resource at our disposal to do so. There is no excuse for our silence in these matters.

We mustn’t simply accept what we’re told by any talking head. Watch your officials on C-Span, uncut. Some of them may not be lying when they plead with us to trust them.

No one is untarnished by corruption. Let’s examine first our own corruption, inherent in ignoring and distracting the corruption in our government.