ISSUE43

TOPIC: ISSUE43 - "To be an effective leader, a public official must maintain the highest ethical and moral standards."
WORDS: 458 TIME: 00:58:47 DATE: 2008-3-8 22:16:59

Whether public officials should conform to the highest ethical and moral criteria, in every scenario and under each condition, depends primarily on the specific occasions they put them in. With respect to some conditions, public officials ought to obey the ethical and moral standards; with respect to certain other cases, they should pay more attention to practical circumstances.

First, when public officials work out political policies and latter judge the masses' activities
according to what they rules, officials should maintain the highest moral criteria. Besides, they themselves should have the sense that they are also under the confines of laws. Officials would be put into prison or receive somewhat punishment in respect that they fail to obey certain moral standards. A mayor in my hometown, for instance, have the rights of improving subordinate officials' position, therefore certain staffers secretly give cash or deal gifts to the mayor on purpose of getting to be improved. Of course, the mayor did not flee away from the punishment of rigorous rules and live for a content life, which is to the contrary of what the multitude must expect. In effect, this mayor had not been delighted for even a month before he was arrested and accused for corruption. Therefore, as this instance demonstrates, any leader of any department certainly must conform to highest moral standards without exception.

By contrast, in certain other cases (frontier of science, power of army, for example), public officials may not have to maintain the highest ethical and moral criteria. It is probable, in these cases, political officials may have to lie or veil the fact, and no alternative choices are available. An ancient example in the history of my motherland happened in the era of Qing, approximately one thousand years ago. The king of Qing, Jian Gou, was put into prison on account of his failing to fight against intrusion leaded by another country's King, Wu. Under this circumstance, Gou would surely be killed on condition that he refused to abnegate in order to maintain the highest moral standards. However, Gou selected the alternative way--to abjure and pretend to be mad, opposite of ethical and moral standards. Wu let Gou go free on respect that Wu confide in Gou's abnormal activities with no doubt. Wu went to a confidential place and advocated his persons altogether to fight back under the name of revenge. Finally, Wu managed it. This is a vivid example that shows public officials may not have to obey strict moral standards.

In sum, public officials should base their choices on practical conditions. They ought to conform to moral standards in respect that they are addressing the problem inside a country. On the other hand, public officials should choose the correct selection that is benefit for the masses.