But Richard, For Wales?

By Rich Kozlovich

I do wish the movie, “Man For All Seasons” was being shown now. Of the two I've seen, I prefer this one,with Paul Scofield as Sir Thomas More.

The movie was about Sir Thomas More who refused to accept the divorce and re-marriage of Henry VIII as legal. During the trial Richard Rich, having sworn under oath to tell the truth, lied about Sir Thomas, a lie which condemned him. Although the outcome was predetermined this lie justified the death sentence.

Sir Thomas More commented, "In good faith, Rich, I am sorrier for your perjury than my peril". As Rich was walking away from the witness stand, Sir Thomas says, "I have one question to ask the witness. That's a chain of office you are wearing. May I see it? The red dragon. What's this?" Cromwell replies, "Sir Richard is appointed Attorney-General for Wales". More says, "For Wales? Why, Richard, it profits a man nothing to give his soul for the whole world . . . But for Wales!"

“Thomas Cromwell was the chief enforcer for Henry VIII, and during his time England broke with the papacy and thus came one of the largest transfers of wealth in the history of England. The King, now the Supreme Head of the Church of England, transferred all the property belonging to the monasteries into his hands, which was about a third of all the land in England.”

“Cromwell’s career combined supreme prowess as an administrator with an unsqueamish ruthlessness in the practice of politics………His cynical Machiavellian qualities had somehow failed him………During Henry’s reign, high politics in England was a blood sport, and it’s clear that Cromwell thrived in this deadly environment and reveled in his triumphs, even when they proved fatal to others.”

"During his rise to power, Cromwell made many enemies, including his former ally Anne Boleyn. He played a prominent role in her downfall. He later fell from power, after arranging the king's marriage to German princess Anne of Cleves. Cromwell had hoped that the marriage would breathe fresh life into the Reformation in England, but Henry found his new bride unattractive and it turned into a disaster for Cromwell, ending in an annulment six months later. Cromwell was arraigned under a bill of attainder and executed for treason and heresy on Tower Hill on 28 July 1540. The king later expressed regret at the loss of his chief minister."

Imagine that!

Being beheaded for finding a bride for a corrupt King the King didn’t like. Well, how could anyone find fault with that, clearly that constituted treason and heresy.......right? And after all, the King regretted beheading him! Imagine that!

When I see what passes for integrity in politics, I can't help but see Scofield in my mind saying, "But Richard, for Wales"! And I chuckle to myself.  Being a man for all seasons isn't for the faint of heart and it requires a strong moral foundation that's hard to maintain once in politics, assuming it was there in the first place.

We see massive corruption in the FBI, and DOJ, not to mention the rest of the Federal bureaucracy which is filled with corrupt self-serving out of control leftist officials who spend enormous amount of money promoting regulations in order to control every aspect of our lives.

I've had any number of people say to me that I should be in politics on both sides by the way, and they say it's because they believe I will say what I believe and do what I say. But I say the same thing every time:

“I could never be elected because the first thing that would come out of my mouth would be: "You're all wrong and I'm going to tell you why, and that would be to my own party!"  

 And truth be told, I’ve been involved in my industries affairs for many years and I’ve met any number of politicians during that time, and I just have no idea why anyone wants to be a politician. However, if I did get elected would it be possible to be a man for all seasons year after year, surrounded by self-serving peers, self-serving bureaucrats and even self-serving constituents?

My strength is in that I don’t want anything. I don't want power, I don't want prestige, I don't want position, I don't want money and I’m more than willing to go unliked for long periods of time. But, would that last? I've become convinced the longer anyone is in political office the more likely they'll become corrupted by all that's going on around them.   Would I be any different? I would like to think so, but people will always be people, and no one can be sure until the time comes when they come to the fork in the road that will determine their destination.

So, what to do?

There should be a sunset law on all government agencies, taxes and regulations. Term limits for all elected officials and jurists in the Federal government. Each state should be able to decide for themselves what they want for state officials, but the Federal government needs to be purged of Members of the House of Representatives and Senate, many of them who've been there too long with a constitutional amendment.

Three terms for the House members (six years) and one term for the Senate (six years).  If two four-year terms are enough for a President, six years is enough for the members Congress.