Political manipulation, scandal, graft, corruption—the guises of evil are manifold in today's governmental systems. Narrow partisanship, deceit, and selfish interest seem rampant. What can be done to help free our world from "the claims of politics and of human power" against which Mrs. Eddy warned us? Her full statement, under the heading "Insufficient Freedom," reads: "To my sense, the most imminent dangers confronting the coming century are: the robbing of people of life and liberty under the warrant of the Scriptures; the claims of politics and of human power, industrial slavery, and insufficient freedom of honest competition; and ritual, creed, and trusts in place of the Golden Rule, 'Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.'" The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 266;
How do we as individual Christians regard politics and politicians? How do we choose them, vote for them, support them? How do we put the very best people into public office? How do we behave in our private lives to uphold the standards we demand of our elected representatives?
The great need, we often hear, is for statesmen in public life rather than mere politicians. But what is the difference? Webster indicates that "politician" in its lower sense involves interests narrower and often more selfish than those of a statesman. The latter is capable of broadminded, farseeing wisdom in affairs of state. It has been said that the difference between a politician and a statesman is that the politician thinks of himself and his party; the statesman thinks of the people and the country.
