We are all mortal, and don't you forget

Picking up my fifteen year old daughter one day from school, my partner and I were talking about current affairs, specifically this freak show we call election campaign that is now preoccupying the entire country.

When out of the blue, my daughter asked THE question...a question that has probably baffled even the most wisest of sages: "Why are politicians corrupt?"

Hmm... tricky question.

Now I don't want my daughter to think that politics is evil. After all, its definition isn't all that bad, being that it is a process that should result to the greater good, so says Aristotle. But then, how can I isolate the process from the implementors, ergo the politicians, who have always been negatively portrayed as corrupt, and thus the subject of a teenager's inquiry.

Carefully, I thought and finally said...

"It's because of greed, sweetie."

"Why?"

"Well, politicians are people and people tend to forget. They forget that even if they gain all the money and power in the world, they are not indestructible. People die. So, whatever they gain here is just temporary because they wouldn't be using all that money and power six feet below the ground."

"Then why do they do it?"

"They do it because they are persuaded to do it. The world that man has created has become very persuasive for them to give in to what they want, and what they want are things that they thought would make them the strongest beings on earth. And what are those things?"

"Money and power?"

"Basically...yes. In olden times, people resort to bartering for his needs. But then someone thought of inventing coins and giving it value based on what goods he wanted to trade in exchange for what he needs. So, if you're a farmer and you harvested a lot, you'll get to sell them in exchange for coins so you can in turn purchase what you need.

Further along, coins were minted with gold or silver to really get things going. Now just imagine what it would be like if you have a whole chest of gold coins in your hands! Imagine what grand things you can possess if you have that many gold coins! How powerful you must feel to get whatever it is you want!

"So it's true that money is the root of all evil?"

"Not really. Money is not evil in itself. If you use money for evil, it's still not evil per se, but the person that uses it. Remember, money is only a tool. It was invented in the first place for a good purpose, and that is for man to provide himself with what he needed to keep on living. It's also like politics. It is not evil in itself but the person that abuses it to gain power. The problem is that man forgets and when you forget, that's when greed sets in. You want more, even if you resort to cheating and stealing just so you can get whatever it is that you want. That sweetie, is corruption."

"Are all politicians like that?"

"I wouldn't say all, honey. It all depends on whether they forget or not. As a matter of fact, it's not only the politicians, but all of mankind as well. Man has become greedy because of the kind of world he invented just to make all things convenient for him. It shouldn't have been bad, but because he forgets, he accumulates, and when he can't get what he wants, he wages war against those who possess that which he desires. It's like Darwin's theory of evolution. Man is on top of the food chain. But among men, there is also survival of the fittest. If you can't hack it, you are are poor and powerless.

Whoa...I said to myself. At this point I needed to backtrack a bit. I mean, I don't want this teenager to think that the world is full of bad people. So, I braced myself for her next question.

"So that explains why there are a lot of poor people?"

"Um... I think so sweetie. But what's important is, do not forget. If there are bad people, there are many of us who are also good, those who don't forget and don't lose themselves from all these materialism. There are people who use their talents, their minds and their hearts to make their lives more meaningful. There are a lot of these people, even in politics. It's only sad that many of us have become so cynical and pessimistic because of the kind of history man has created. Man is so forgetful that he even forgets the lessons he should have learned from that history he created. But it is also man who can turn things around for him. We only have one life to live and it is short. We are only mortals. It's up to you how you spend your short life on earth.

"So sweetie, don't forget, ok?"