Virtue…in me and in you

Moral excellence is valued in several developing countries.  The shirts must be white and spotless.  Many are those with updated anti-corruption legislations. Some are still at the stage of giving their own interpretations to specific anti-corruption issues, quoting frequently that some governing provisions are conservatory and fail the modern age era.  Aristotle, the student of Plato, described the role model which politics and the political community at large must play in bringing about the virtuous life in each inhabitant.
How is it possible for those concerned to conform themselves to Aristotle theory of Ethics and Politics in a small country which is economically striving and whereby good administration, and daily management, are at the mercy of few? Constituents are demanding.  Surgeries and CAB offices are flooded with ‘rendez-vous’.  Those who follow their elected members do not care about the latter’s performance and achievements.  They receive no wishes, no support, but always outstanding bills from the many who are being harassed on a daily basis from operating authorities following a change in their ‘meter reading apparatus’.  Some have already collected their summons to Court to show why the previous ‘meter reading apparatus’ was working slowly before and to explain why now it is faster – when was there a real and an accurate reading?
We always ask what kind of Government Constitutional Convention had given the ‘peuple admirable’.  Having a Republic as answer, meant that one should be alarmed to the dangers which Republics are faced with.  
The Constitutional system of checks and balances was mainly designed to make it more difficult in the event dishonest persons were elected to key positions in the Government.  The only real protection against tyranny was the character of the people elected to office.  However, there is another more indirect route that could lead to the collapse of the Republic: The loss of Virtue amongst the inhabitants.
Virtue is an old-fashioned and misunderstood word today.  The Latin word ‘virtus’ comes from the word vir, “man”. Virtue was thus literally manliness, the qualities that men should strive to achieve.  Significantly, these “masculine” traits could only be exhibited in the service of the Republic.
The Roman concept of Virtus was more directly related to Government. The Romans believed that Government officials needed Virtus otherwise they would abuse their power.
Everyone involved with the State needs Virtue to function within.  In a Republic, it must reach office bearers and also those selecting them.  If the latter lacks Virtue, the former certainly will as well.

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