In this day and age, making use of the words political and moral in the same sentence is no longer common. More often than not, we see some kind of link between politics and immorality. I cannot be so sure that, in the past, people were not immoral but I do know that our newspapers and the visual and aural means of communication are full of news about this or that politician who allegedly was involved and embroiled in some sort of immoral behaviour.

Whether we speak about tax evasion, political corruption, unlawful relationships, or some other immoral or dishonest action, there is always somehow some politician involved. So what has given rise to our political scene to be so laden with corruption? Was it always so? Or, rather, "power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely"?

He who coined this phrase, Lord Acton, knew very well that man has a tendency to immorality and corruption if allowed uncontrolled freedom.

All this was very well known to our ancestors. They tried to build a government and constitution whereby no one could garner absolute power, and everything is balanced and reciprocally controlled. Few could foresee that, with time, even this would lead to corruption in candid circumstances, within schizophrenic ideologies of a party, and in the enactment of laws, to say the least. I must say that morality has long been vanishing for many reasons. We live in a world of political correctness, where freedom of expression liberates us from objections and insults; we live in a world of tolerance where we tolerate everything except those who try to impose on us a sense of morality; we live in a free world, doing whatever we like, except to expect that others need not have their own moral code.

Morality is there for a purpose. If a society must succeed, it must have some sort of code of conduct

Our world, politically and otherwise, has become so immoral that the only thing we expect from others not to possess is morality. After all, if I see that you adopt a moral conduct, I might well be bothered and feel guilty about my own behaviour. God forbid! The only way how certain sectors, especially on the political level, can have a clean conscience is by ensuring that no one speaks out against their decisions.

Perhaps I just have a negative outlook about life, but during my 50 years plus of existence, I saw taking place a number of ugly episodes. Even 20 years ago, before the indoctrination in our schools of the modern tolerance, one would end up in prison for much less.

Yet, today, many turn their faces away from the moral political model (or otherwise). Eh, so he evaded paying tax, so she lied about what she knew and when she got to know, so what....? And we could continue. Perhaps such attitudes can today still be witnessed in most government systems when individuals are given sensitive posts, and nobody could care less whether they have a dubious character, whether they pay their taxes, whether they lie, or whether they embrace extremist views, and, for those who are concerned, at best, are considered as troublemakers, and, at worst, as traitors. Morality is there for a purpose.

If a society must succeed, it must have some sort of code of conduct which everyone must abide by. Will there come a time when a murderer will be let off free as if nothing happened? Immorality, or, better truly defined, distancing oneself from accepted social norms, leads to a world of self-centred egoism, where one does anything to be the only one served and satisfied to the prejudice of society. Ultimately, an immoral society will erode from the inside, unless it is not eroded earlier by external factors.

So what can we do? First of all, we should seek to better our own moral character. Secondly, we should hold our politicians accountable for their behaviour by voting accordingly and making our voice publicly heard whether via the telephone, petitions, electronic correspondence, letters or protests.

When we, as a society, fall silent in front of immoral or amoral politicians, we are accomplices in their lack of morality. We must not surrender our right to make ourselves heard, for by doing so, any other freedom we enjoy will vanish, and our country, as we have long known it, will no longer exist.

Mark Said is a senior legal counsel.