Humility

From "Thoughts in Solitude"

It is not speaking that breaks our silence, but the anxiety to be heard. The words of the proud man impose silence on all others, so that he alone may be heard. The humble man speaks only in order to be spoken to. The humble man asks nothing but an alms, then waits and listens.

Thomas Merton, Thoughts in Solitude: 91, 1958

Gentility is a virtue in conversations, listening a service. There is a common thread among arriving presidents in the United States of an appeal to gentility in the population. President George H. W. Bush appealed to a "kinder and gentler" nation; Pres. Clinton appealed to a new, "third way" in politics; George W. Bush likened to a "compassionate conservatism". Listening serves all of these qualities admirably.

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Corruption

From "The Oxford Book of Aphorisms"

Whatever may be the general endeavor of a community to render its members equal and alike, the personal pride of individuals will always seek to rise above the line, and to form somewhere an inequality to their own advantage.

De Tocqueville, Democracy in America, 1835

They say that campaign finance reform can never be totally successful- ways will always be found to 'beat the system' if human will is strong enough. Corruption is that undue influence in policy making that makes the resulting policies unfair. Political reformers must prevent corruption, and also be prepared to take action to eliminate corruption whenever it happens anyway.

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