By Rep. Nathan Ballentine
HOW “POLITICS” HAS BECOME JAGGER’S LUCIFER
“Please allow me to introduce myself
I’m a man of wealth and taste
I’ve been around for a long, long year
Stole many a man’s soul and faith…â€
                            -Politics
When I decided to offer myself as a public servant, my pastor told me “God doesn’t place this on many people’s hearts. You should do it.†He also added “Politics isn’t Sunday School though.â€
How prophetic were those words.
In my four short years in office, nothing surprises me anymore in Politics. Sadly, I’m almost now numb to the many new ways that Politics can bring out the worst in some folks.
Initially, a Politician may vote for something out of his own self-interest as opposed to his beliefs, the merits of the bill or the qualifications of the judicial candidate.
Why? Maybe it’s a chance to gain favor with a powerful member, or perhaps it could lead to a campaign contribution or Political support down the road. Maybe this quid-pro-quo could yield a return “thank you†on one of this person’s own pieces of legislation, or support for one of their judicial candidates when the time comes?
Forget the merits of the bill or the qualifications of the candidate. Those things should matter; but sadly they aren’t the only things that matter in Politics.
I guess I was naïve when I heard about these stories before I was elected, but I can tell you that’s only the beginning.
Circle One, if you will.
This slippery slope starts “innocently†enough with simple comments like “this is how things get done†or “you’ve got to go along to get alongâ€. It’s a little voice that whispers “It’s ok. Everyone does it.â€
Circle Two begins when folks slide a little further and vote against what their constituents back home are asking of them – votes they wouldn’t otherwise make without pressure from within.
The people they represent may be overwhelmingly for or against a particular issue, yet Politicians find a way to vote the other way.
Their justification for this is that “Politicians know better.” Politicians have access to information that constituents do not. Had constituents been able to access that information, surely they would see their representative voted correctly, right?
Granted, Politicians should lead, and leading oftentimes means going against the grain.
If done for the right reasons, going against the grain is good. If done for the wrong reasons, though, it’s not leadership at all.
So do Politicians vote against what they know is right? And if so, why?
Of course they do, but when that happens it’s only a matter of time before Politicians are at a place they never thought they’d be – a place where they may have indeed sold their soul (or had it stolen).
The scenarios above (regardless how “shocking†they may be) are mild compared to the next level, one I’m sure exists in every state and in federal government as well.
This next level takes us to the bottom.
This column doesn’t allow for the laundry list of political vices that are rampant everywhere – the kind of vices that take Politicians to depths they never knew they’d visit. But we know them when we see them, and most times it’s not the greed, envy or any of the other deadly sins that gets the Politician, it’s what those things force him or her to start doing.
Much like the frog placed in water that gradually boils, Politicians are eventually so caught up in the system they don’t even know it. I call this the “mirror test†and when you fail that test; you’re done. Maybe not as a Politician; but certainly as a public servant.
Sadly, most Politicians don’t realize they’ve failed this test or either they continue to explain away their actions with the ultimate “ends justify the means†rationale.
Politicians want to have more “power†and “influence” to better enact the altruistic beliefs and goals that they had when they first ran.
But do they sell their soul to get it? That’s the irony of it all.
As with every dark cloud, though, there is a silver lining. Yes, Politics indeed isn’t like Sunday School but the players are the same: sinners, saints, and many in between. State and federal governments do have men and women with true motives who don’t sell their soul or have it stolen. These public servants remember who they are, why they were elected, and whom they answer to.
In the short run, it’s the voters. In the long run, it’s family, self, and God.
At least that’s how I see it …
“Pleased to meet you.
Hope you guess my name.
What’s puzzling you is the nature of my game.â€
              -Politics
UPDATE – Be sure to check out Ballentine’s website, Nathan’s News, for more good stuff.
By Earl May 22, 2008 at 8:45 am
Amen, brother.
By Kumbaya May 22, 2008 at 9:46 am
Nathan, that gave me chill bumps.
Amen & God Bless You. You too Willie. And you too Earl.
By Aquinas May 22, 2008 at 8:49 pm
“Every saint has a past; every sinner has a future.” Let’s pray for our politicians. God Bless you, Rep. Balentine.
By Awordtothewise May 23, 2008 at 9:51 am
Those Who Live In Glass Houses……….
I was once told a great story about a king who lived in a two-story grass hut when all others around him lived in one-story abodes. The king was cruel, and forced his subjects to build him a copper throne. When he got tired of it, he made them build him a silver throne and stored the copper one on the second floor. His rear end quickly stopped enjoying the silver throne, so he commissioned a gold throne and put the silver one next to the first throne, upstairs. Once gold began to bore him, he flogged his people until they built him a platinum one. Finally, as he sat in his platinum throne, his second floor collapsed, and the first three thrones — gold, silver and copper — crashed down on his head, killing him. Which just goes to show that those who live in grass houses shouldn’t stow thrones.
By John May 23, 2008 at 9:56 am
John 8:3 And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst,
4 They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.
5 Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?
6 This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.
7 So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
8 And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.
9 And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
10 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?
11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
By Dante May 23, 2008 at 10:02 am
Holy Crap!! He is invoking images of hell and sin?? Does he have a guilty conscience? Is he unburdening his soul and describing what has happened to him? And why is he offering comparisons to Dante’s Inferno, allegedly to take the high road, on a blog that has pictures of scantly clad women and hints about women being attracted to men in positions of power? Is this similar to the Baptists who studiously ignore each other in the liquor store on Saturday and hail each other as great Christians on Sunday? If he is such a “great moral leader” why not tell his constituents where he has made a moral stand during the session instead of trying to evoke my sympathy for him. I have no sympathy for the “circles of hell” that he is supposedly enduring. He not only asked to be placed “in hell” but spent a considerable amount of time and money to get there. Don’t give me the self-righteous, woe-is-me, arrogance. Go downtown. Do what you’re supposed to do. Report back to the district that elected you. Leave the sanctimonious crap in the Statehouse where it belongs.
By WHATEVER May 23, 2008 at 10:11 am
Gland Hander, Glad Hander, Glad Hander,
GIMMIE A BREAK–
By dr.dictionary May 23, 2008 at 10:14 am
Self-Aggrandizing:
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) – Cite This Source – Share This
ag·gran·dize Audio Help /??grænda?z, ?ægr?n?da?z/ Pronunciation Key – Show Spelled Pronunciation[uh-gran-dahyz, ag-ruhn-dahyz] Pronunciation Key – Show IPA Pronunciation
–verb (used with object), -dized, -diz·ing. 1. to widen in scope; increase in size or intensity; enlarge; extend.
2. to make great or greater in power, wealth, rank, or honor.
3. to make (something) appear greater.
By r.stonesfan May 23, 2008 at 10:21 am
Sympathy for the Devil yes, Nathan not so much
Rolling Stones
Please allow me to introduce myself
I’m a man of wealth and taste
I’ve been around for a long, long year
Stole many a man’s soul and faith
And I was ’round when jesus christ
Had his moment of doubt and pain
Made damn sure that pilate
Washed his hands and sealed his fate
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name
But what’s puzzling you
Is the nature of my game
I stuck around st. petersburg
When I saw it was a time for a change
Killed the czar and his ministers
Anastasia screamed in vain
I rode a tank
Held a general’s rank
When the blitzkrieg raged
And the bodies stank
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name
Ah, what’s puzzling you
Is the nature of my game
I watched with glee
While your kings and queens
Fought for ten decades
For the gods they made
I shouted out,
Who killed the kennedys?
When after all
It was you and me
Let me please introduce myself
I’m a man of wealth and taste
And I laid traps for troubadours
Who get killed before they reached bombay
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guessed my name, oh yeah
But what’s puzzling you
Is the nature of my game
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guessed my name
But what’s confusing you
Is just the nature of my game
Just as every cop is a criminal
And all the sinners saints
As heads is tails
Just call me lucifer
’cause I’m in need of some restraint
So if you meet me
Have some courtesy
Have some sympathy, and some taste
Use all your well-learned politesse
Or I’ll lay your soul to waste, yeah
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guessed my name, yeah
But what’s puzzling you
Is the nature of my game
By DumbS.Carolinian May 23, 2008 at 10:24 am
Iz adultree still illgeal in South Carolinaa?
Jus Wonderin
By omniscientone May 23, 2008 at 12:50 pm
This column doesn’t allow for the laundry list of political vices that are rampant everywhere- ….most times it’s not the greed, envy or any of the other deadly sins that gets the Politician, it’s what those things force him or her to start doing…..
Did YOU forget to take the”mirror test”
By palmettoblogger May 23, 2008 at 2:41 pm
Then we have Nathan Ballentine, whose gi-normous head takes up practically the entire screen (making it hard to concentrate on what he’s saying), which matches his gi-normous histrionic personality
By unbelieving constituent May 23, 2008 at 3:03 pm
spare us the rhetorical demagoguery
By A Supporter May 23, 2008 at 4:35 pm
Bottom line is you know that Nathan is right. I would bet that the hating comments are from legislators and the consultants who represent them. These guys are all about protecting their own leadership positions, financial interests and egos. There are a few good ones in the GA who got into it for the right reasons. Nathan is one of them.Some of the newest members are worse than the ones that have been there 20 years! The more he and others fight the system the more the establishment will try and defeat those like him. Right always wins. Keep working and fighting Nathan! Those of us outside the bubble see what you guys are up against and appreciate you. Its only a matter of time . . .