CONFESSING POLITICIANS

Yes I know that the above title is an oxymoron— a self-contradictory statement. When do politicians ever confess? When they do—we have an extremely newsworthy event on our hands! That’s just about true whenever a politician confesses just about anything! Normally for them, confession is a bad word, a bad idea, and political suicide. Or so they think. So they don’t. Instead they hide, they cover- up, the divert, they blame—they do anything and everything but take responsibility for mis-behaviors or actions that indicate corruption or criminal mis-deeds.

In American politics, the biggest case in recent history was Watergate and Richard Nixon. The biggest problem in that instance was the cover-up, not the crime. The crime amount to petty thief, a break-in at the democratic headquarters, a stupid action concocted by Libby and which didn’t really amount to anything. But the cover-up, the lying, the 18-minutes audio-tape erased— that was what Congress set out to impeach Nixon for and so he was forced to resign in humiliation. But did he ever confess or own up to it? No.

Then there was Bill Clinton and his cover-ups and lies about “that woman” that he “didn’t have sex with,” which he eventually admitted that he did. So he was impeached. His lost his license to practice law, but just a couple votes saved him so he was able to stay in office, although tremendously weakened as president. Again, the big thing was the lies and cover-up, not the actions. Martha Stewart experienced a similar thing. There was some insider trading, but what sent her to prison was the lying, the cover-ups.

Now we have the same thing with Hillary Clinton. Swearing she did not lie to the FBI over and over and over, but James Comey the head of the FBI admitted that she did. Swearing that she did not send out sensitive top secret information on the emails, but the FBI director said that she did. Lying about the death of the Ambassador in Libya and the deaths of the others in Benghazi by saying that it was due to a video and yet simultaneously telling the truth (that it was a terrorist attack) to her daughter and the President of Egypt, she then later dismissed it, “What difference does it now make?” Now this week we have another FBI investigation of her on another matter about classified materials being on other people’s servers, and it looks like more cover-ups.

I would think that they would learn, well, I always hope that they will learn. But it seems to be a particular blind spot for politicians and one that nearly all politicians face. The paradox is that in the USA, the American people are especially forgiving and will forgive if there is simply an acknowledgment and request. We all know human fallibility— we make mistakes. That’s inevitable. There’s no escape from that. And with a confession that acknowledges the mistake, that comforts us that the person understands and has a new consciousness about it and so will probably not repeat the same mistake.

This is what’s missing when a person covers-up. How do we know that the person understands and will work to avoid the mistake next time? We don’t. And that’s the problem. Conversely, with a confession, what we get from the person is an understanding and an accountability. The current explosion of events in the US Presidential race brings this issue to the foreground again. How refreshing it would be to get a politician who is open and vulnerable and human and who will acknowledge mistakes, simply say so, and ask for forgiveness.

In terms of creating personal self-actualization, or the self-actualization of a family, a group, a business, or a country—people have to get real. They have to come out from behind themselves, behind their roles and masks and public images. Coming out and getting real means being open to being a human being, vulnerable to many things, fallible in everything, limited in resources and understanding. It is not easy, but it is the human way. And when people do, then they can grow, develop compassion for others, and focus on doing better.

It is the process of covering up that creates all sorts of other problems and even human evils. When a person starts covering-up and hiding their truths and realities— they begin to lose touch with their real selves. They create secrets and as Virginia Satir often said, “A family is as sick as its secrets.” As they hiding continues, people develop blind spots and with all sorts of defense and escape mechanisms. Eventually, they become alienated from their real selves.

The call to have Confessing Politicians is a call for them to get real. But that is not only a call for them, it is for us also. I have recently written a book on this subject. Get Real focuses on authenticity as the quality that makes us healthy and human. It enables us to be trusted, it builds credibility, it makes relationships and collaborations possible, it unleashes potentials, and there are many, many more benefits.

If you’re interested in more— see the newest book:

Get Real! Unleashing Your Authenticity (2016)

www.neurosemantics.com / Products / Neuro-Semantic Books

if the book is not there — you can order / Trainers / Pay a Statement the book is $25 ... shipping IN the USA is $6 and outside the USA is $34. So $31 or $59 ... the packages can hold as much as 3 books, add $20 for each additional book.