Letter to new Congress: Beware ethical snares
Editor's note: Kathryn Jean Lopez is editor-at-large of National Review Online and a nationally syndicated columnist. Seth Leibsohn is a fellow of the Claremont Institute and a principal with the consulting firm Leibsohn & Associates.
(CNN) -- Dear New Members of the 112th Congress:
Welcome to Washington. By now you've received all kinds of advice from a crowd of experts, here and at home.
You've received counsel on what committees to seek out, what legislation to attach your name to, what position you should take on any given issue, what you should be known for.
People are talking to you about your legacy and your prospects. They're also telling you where you should live and what parties to go to. Very little goes without comment here. And there's much more to come. But as all of it overwhelms your in-boxes -- and your mind and soul -- please don't forget the most important details of all. It can be easy to neglect the fundamentals during the chaos of changing the way this town runs. But it's also critical to the mission: Don't forget to be good, to be decent.
King Solomon reminds us what legacy decency can yield, "A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold."
You are members of the largest novice class in six decades -- 94 freshman members of the United States House of Representatives, and 16 new senators. More than a few of you are new to town, many heralded in by a grass-roots Tea Party movement that, while undeniably in large part a response to the economic crisis, is about much more than that. At root, that movement is about responsibility. But there can be no meaningful accountability in Washington without leaders who personify responsibility. With that in mind, some words of encouragement and caution:
These are tough political, financial, and economic times. They're also ethically arduous. Yet, the road to solutions can be a minefield for those who do not keep their moral compass firmly in hand. Candidates who offer themselves as hope and a change -- and we do mean of either party -- too often come to believe that they themselves are those embodiments. They come to see themselves as not humble servants called to leadership but political messiahs who can do no wrong.
There are very good people in Washington, but some of the well-known cynicism about this place has merit, too. We are all familiar with the unholy litany of political leaders and staffers who have betrayed not only their responsibility but also their charge and duty.
barak obama hillary clinton george w bush nancy pelosi harry reid