Ignoring the Flawsof National Leaders

People tend to ignore the flaws of national leaders. Describe a specific situation in which people might not ignore the flaws of national leaders. Discuss what you think determines when people might ignore the flaws of national leaders and when they might not. With the exception of the 2008 presidential election, the US populace has been generally apathetic with regard to politics. While most people can identify the US president, the majority cannot name influential national leaders, including members of the Cabinet, the legislature and the Supreme Court. Many cannot comprehend the relevance of political decisions in their everyday lives and therefore have no interest in the actions of national leaders. Indeed, people tend to ignore flaws exhibited by these leaders due to their political apathy. However, in times of election, people tend to be aware of flaws of national leaders due to ubiquitous campaign advertising and politically-charged environment overall. In general, people tend to ignore the flaws of national leaders. This is especially true among a populace that cannot make connections between decisions made on the national level and their own lives. The political process remains a mystery to most Americans and many do not take time to learn how national government decisions affect life on the local level. Many, therefore, choose not to investigate and vote for their national leaders. Flaws, including inconsistency in their voting records, are of little interest to most Americans. However, when the flaws make for salacious news (e.g., Monica Lewinsky scandal), many Americans are willing to follow all details. People, by nature, are drawn to prurient stories--especially when they live rather mundane lives. Furthermore, flaws that reveal deep hypocrisy attract widespread attention. For example, a Republican touting "family values" inevitably gets caught in the national spotlight when accused of having an extra-marital affair or engaging in same-sex relations. (Granted, Democrats also find their careers destroyed after such headlines but an exposition of hypocrisy tends to magnify the gravity of the situation). People also focus on flaws of national leaders especially during election time. They are bombarded with negative campaign ads left and right (no pun intended); it is difficult to not be aware of candidates' weaknesses and sometimes tempting to follow up on those types of stories. Indeed, this age of Internet and unlimited information provides citizens the means to know more about their leaders and judge their performance from several perspectives. In general, regular Joes could care less about flaws exhibited by their national leaders. They do not want to bother with the seemingly esoteric and dirty world of politics when they have their own serious problems to tackle. However, flaws involving sex will always catch people's attention. The ubiquity of negative campaign ads may also spark a lot of interest in a leader. Other than these exceptions, the people in general will not pay heed to weaknesses of their leaders.