Politicians have not always been associated with diplomatic chicanery, amoral pragmatism and self-aggrandization, the way they tend to be now. There was a time when leaders like Abraham Lincoln sounded the clarion call for democracy, and pleaded as Woodrow Wilson did in his Fourteen Points for world peace and mutual respect. Since the twin horrors of World War I and World War II, as well as various crises like Vietnam, however, the masses have become …showed first 75 words of 1187 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1187 total…the negative light. Politics, especially in this era of social organizations like non-governmental organizations (NGOs), has its specific burden to bear -- management of a country on a day-to-day basis. NGOs like Amnesty International can help supplement this by keeping issues like human rights on the agenda. "Hard-headed decisions, money and power" may be too harsh a term to use -- it would be crucifying politics on a cross it does not have to bear.