Where Has Integrity Vanished In America?

Last week, federal prosecutors charged Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich with a “political corruption crime spree” of mind-numbing scope that included attempting to sell Barack Obama’s U.S. Senate seat. Across the nation at coffee shops, citizens asked, “What’s happened to integrity, duty to country and honor to one’s family?”

While Illinois features the corruption-ridden Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley political machine from the turbulent 60s, his son Mayor Richard M. Daley carries on in much the same manner. Chicago houses upwards of two million illegal aliens protected by Daley’s “Sanctuary City” status—in direct conflict with Federal Laws. No illegal aliens may be arrested or deported within Chicago’s city limits. All rapists, terrorists, drug dealers and gang members enjoy protection from law enforcement.

But what about integrity? What about personal responsibility? What about taking an oath on the Bible to uphold our U.S. Constitution and laws? What do those men use for brains?

This year, New York Governor Elliot Spitzer, on March 17, 2008, resigned his office in the wake of a jaw-dropping scandal. His crime? While he enjoyed money, fame, three beautiful teenage daughters, and a fabulously attractive and highly educated wife—he visited $1,000.00 an hour hookers for kicks, grins and giggles. Of all the amoral lunacy, Spitzer broke every boundary of common sense and ethical responsibility fathomable.

How could a man of his stature and position, think, for a nano-second, that he wouldn’t get caught? I mean–the governor of one of our most powerful states commands attention 24/7! As a district attorney, he crushed big city crime. Yet, he followed them into the Dark Side. He humiliated his wife Silda and his three impressionable daughters. It’s beyond me how one man could express such arrogance, and hubris in the face of such astounding responsibility.

Yet, if we look back 40 years ago, Senator Teddy Kennedy, with the same sexual propensities as his brothers John F. and Robert F. for extra marital affairs—Teddy drove Mary Jo Kopechne over a bridge into a river and watched her drown. He lied like a thief and he got away with his crime. He sat in his senate seat up to this day, when he should have been sitting in an adjacent jail cell and welcomed O.J. Simpson.

Fast forward to President William J. Clinton seducing a 21 year old college girl! Never mind he carried on an affair with Jennifer Flowers while he presided over the governorship of Arkansas! She, into her 30s at least, kept quiet until later years. But come on! What was Clinton thinking? A 21 year old girl, who just had sex with the President of the United States in the Oval Office, would tell her girlfriend as soon as she returned to her apartment. From there, the story exploded across this country. Clinton strangled the last two years of his presidency and our country while he humiliated his wife and daughter Chelsea. It’s beyond sickening that he didn’t consider the consequences of his actions—to our entire society! How did millions of parents explain to their own sons and daughters that their United States of America president sat smoking a cigar at his desk while enjoying oral sex from a 21 year old?

Later, U.S. House Representative Tom Delay of Texas, found himself caught in a web of deceit and money laundering. After him, Representative Duke Cunningham of California now sits in a jail cell for accepting $2.3 million in bribes. Representative Jefferson in Louisiana got caught with $100,000.00 of payoff money in his refrigerator. My God! With all the perks of their office as to travel, healthy six figure salary, privileges and trust—what did those men use for brains?

Last year, U.S. Senator Larry Craig (ID) suffered arrest and conviction for soliciting sexual favors on the homosexual side at a public restroom at an airport. What on earth was he thinking?

President George W. Bush lied about his involvement in ‘forcing’ the Iraq War by ‘creating’ the moniker of Weapons of Mass Destruction. Today, he calls it an ‘intelligence failure’. Nonetheless, he pushed his people to submit lies to validate a war that has cost us $1 trillion, 4,200 dead kids, 32,000 horribly wounded and tens of thousands with emotional problems that will result in tens of thousands of suicides over the coming decades. Not only that, he killed over 100,000 Iraqi civilians from best estimates and forced 2.5 million Iraqis into refugee camps. For what? Short answer: sheer insanity or a deep pathological glitch deep within his being. Bush like Lyndon Baines Johnson will be hated and scorned for the remainder of his life.

When you look at the corruption in Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, reasons for home foreclosures because of loans given to illegal aliens by the millions, Sanctuary Cities, anchor babies by illegal alien mothers, hospitals giving free services to illegal aliens who are not deported—no wonder this country falls into horrific consequences! We find ourselves becoming a third world country where corruption marches as a ‘mechanism’ by which our elected leaders operate.

I have touched only the tip of the corruption iceberg! We still don’t know the extent of the Jack Abramoff payoff scandal. We do not know the extent of all those in Congress who haven’t been caught or how many state governors remain free while they lead corrupt lives.

To my final corruption: what about U.S. Senator Barack Obama our president-elect? With one simple submission of his validated birth certificate, showing that he is a natural born U.S. citizen—he could dispel the charges that his true birth place is Kenya, Africa. Yet, he has not! He will not until he is forced.

Thus, Obama, by his lack of integrity, his lack of honesty and his lack of honor will most certainly create a Constitutional crisis. If he does not produce a valid U.S. birth certificate, he will become no different than the Kennedy’s, Blagojevich, Spitzer, Clinton and George Bush.

And our country circles the toilet while our Constitution finds itself being flushed into the sewer.

Frosty Wooldridge is a regular columnist for Novakeo.com

Frosty Wooldridge has bicycled across six continents – from the Arctic to the South Pole – as well as six times across the USA, coast to coast and border to border. In 2005, he bicycled from the Arctic Circle, Norway to Athens, Greece.

He presents “The Coming Population Crisis in America: and what you can do about it” to civic clubs, church groups, high schools and colleges. He works to bring about sensible world population balance at his website: www.frostywooldridge.com