Almost every candidate for political office rationalizes, “If I do not compromise on my principles, my opponent will win, and will do something even worse.” It is a very understandable rationalization, but one that is leading us into ever deeper ethical abyss. Candidates fantasize they will return to their principles after they are safely in office, but that day of perfect security never comes. It is a better gift to one’s nation to lose an election over one’s principles, than to win one by abandoning them.
If everyone fights fire with fire, we all end up with ashes