36. Integrity sours with cynicism
SPs run the risk of becoming cynical, leading to a souring of their integrity: their ideals and principles fade, their motivation decreases, and they become negative about the value of being an SP and the integrity of others. SPs can avoid cynicism by (1) paying sufficient attention to the positive sides of their jobs, (2) being realistic, (3) handling criticism well, (4) allowing the facts to shine through, and (5) looking for sources of energy and hope.
SPs who start their jobs idealistic and in good spirits run the risk of becoming frustrated because they achieve less than they had hoped, morality disappoints them, they receive less appreciation than expected, and meet with more opposition than they could ever have imagined. Such frustrations can lead to cynicism. SPs become embittered and casual about complying with standards and rules. They can also become cynical about the significance of the job. This is reflected in the way Winston Churchill once defined politics as “the ability to foretell what is going to happen tomorrow, next week, next month, and next year. And to have the ability afterwards to explain why it didn’t happen.”174 Similarly SPs can become cynical, even paranoid, about the integrity of others. This is said of US president Richard Nixon and British prime minister John Major. Major is said to have increasingly believed he was surrounded by scoundrels who were out to thwart him and get rid of him.175
This kind of cynicism leads to a souring of integrity: ideals become blunted, principles watered down, and motivation to do good and perform well drains away. SPs then become lukewarm and indifferent where they started out warm and committed, dull and expressionless where before they were sparkling and colorful, and mechanical and robotic where originally they were involved and animated.
It is therefore important that cynicism is not allowed to gain the upper hand. This can be avoided by giving sufficient attention to the positive, pleasant sides of the position,176 such as the meaning the SP job has for people. Cynicism can also be prevented by realizing that fulfilling an SP job is a privilege. US president Dwight D. Eisenhower stated that politics is a noble profession.177 Barack Obama even made the battle against cynicism the core of his first election campaign for the presidency: “In the end that is what this election is about. Do we participate in a politics of cynicism or do we participate in a politics of hope?”178 The battle against cynicism is not only determined by how people see their jobs and their environment, but also how they see themselves. As Indian political leader Mahatma Gandhi said of himself, “Men say I am a saint losing himself in politics. The fact is that I am a politician trying my hardest to become a saint.”179 There is no better retort to cynicism. The job provides the place and the opportunity to gain integrity, as well as the pitfalls that cause SPs to lose it.
In addition to having an eye for the positive sides of the job, cynicism can be avoided by realism. Cynicism is in part caused by failing to realize that achieving ideals is difficult because reality is obstinate. It is important not to expect miracles in the job and to remember that an individual’s power, even in the case of dictators, is always limited. Institutions are inert, procedures bring delay, and the dynamics of decision making often lead to unexpected and unwanted outcomes. Realism prevents overstrained expectations and enables us to handle disappointments better. As an SP described it, “Politics is effort, disappointment, getting up and carrying on every day.”180 To avoid cynicism George W. Bush put the situation and himself in perspective by starting out from the idea that you have to make do with the cards you are given.181 At the same time, it in is these very limitations and impossibilities that the challenge lies. Former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton sees the challenge of politics as “the art of making what appears to be impossible, possible.”182
In order to avoid cynicism it is important to be able to deal with criticism. Decisions can lead to bitter, harsh, and even degrading reactions, beyond anything that could be imagined ahead of time. Gerald Ford, when accused of coming to secret agreements with Nixon on his resignation in exchange for a pardon, conceded, “I knew when I became President that hard decisions would produce some bitter reactions. Still, I wasn’t prepared for the allegations that the Nixon pardon prompted.”183 There are also SPs who have been publicly called Nazis, narcissists