Sometimes I like to believe that the people in our government hold themselves to the highest moral standards when conducting the job they were elected into office to do. Telling lies, not going to work, and stealing are a few things an average worker would find pretty much against job policy. However, in our government today, there are elected officials and government workers doing just that. As I have grown to become interested in politics over the last couple of years, I have heard of the scandals that arise in Washington now and then. At the Broward League of Cities last meeting, I was astonished to see corruption so prevalent in our very own cities.

In the session titled “Honest Services and Misuse of Office” fellow ambassadors and I sat through about an hour and a half of mug shots from corrupt government officials. It is hard to believe that everyday a branch of our government puts away criminals for stealing, when in fact many in our government steal themselves. Now I know a few bad apples shouldn’t be able to spoil the bunch, so the next part of the session was crucial in establishing distance between yourself and any misconceptions people would have about the business you carry out. Many of the government officials in the mug shots I had mentioned before were caught for stealing or getting kickbacks from companies their city employed.

I learned in the next half hour that there is a very thin line between what is right and what is wrong when it comes to proceedings in government. Anything you say could be taken the wrong way if you are not careful. The gentleman conducting the seminar made it a good point to always conduct business with multiple officials around. Most importantly, as my mother has told me many times, “If you think what you are doing is wrong, it probably is.” This saying could come in handy for officials who are skeptical of a situation. Although the session this month was a little depressing, I figured in order to make something greater you must recognize its flaws, and in taking part in that class our Broward County officials are making an effort to make out cities stronger and more repellant of injustices in our government.

After that, we were taken to the main exhibition where cities from around Broward County showcased their environmental changes to make their cities greener. One in particular that stood out to me was the City of Hollywood’s green initiatives. By recycling, their cities citizens would receive points that could go towards things such as gas or groceries. It was a great way to really get people involved in the environmental initiative. Overall this month’s meeting was quite an eye-opening one. I look forward to learning more about our government in the future.

By: Kimberly Willoughby