NYS Corruption Proves America Needs Social Workers In Politics

NYS Senator Malcolm Smith wanted to be Mayor of New York City. It is an honorable title, and a much sought after position as the head one of the most powerful cities on the planet. So much so that Mr. Smith decided that he should bribe his way onto the Republican mayoral ballot. Ironically, Mr. Smith happens to be an elected Democrat, which is strange in and of itself. He arranged the betrayal of every single New Yorker with Daniel Halloran, a Republican City Councilman. They attempted to bribe Joesph J. Savino, chairman of the Bronx Republican Party, and Vincent Tabone, vice chairman of the Queens Republican Party. In addition, there are  charges of bribery for lucrative land deals in Spring Valley, NY.

The attempted capture of the American system of government is not the worst part of this story, it is the fact that it doesn’t surprise me that it happened. I don’t know about you, but I sort of assume the government has been captured by the all mighty dollar, be it legal via Super PAC’s, or illegally as in this case. It’s almost laughable that using Super PAC’s to accomplish the same task is legal in the first place, but that is beyond the scope of this article. Mr. Smith’s glorious failure at mocking the voters of NYS got me thinking about SJS’s mission.

Social Justice Solutions is a forum for social workers to promote the exploration of social welfare policy, and social work practice. It keeps keeping with the NASW Code of Ethics in in order for Social Workers to better connect with the needs of the public they serve. By unifying social workers we will create the foundation needed to promote social workers for public office.

All at once I recalled our original thinking in bringing our small community to life; we had hoped that social work might represent a body of leadership that could inspire public trust in elected officials again. Perhaps our code of ethics and our drive to help others as a primary goal might be enough to ensure that a story about corruption in government is met with outrage, not apathetic acceptance. Maybe a social work license could transcend a legal document, becoming an example of the sacred acceptance of public trust and a certification that our duty  to our people is being upheld.

I’ve no doubt that there will be readers who scoff at this notion with their absurd ideas of what social workers do, but it is not to them that I write. Social workers know, and all you fine people of this noble calling are precisely those I am writing to. We have in our hands the profession that could offer salvation to apathy and corruption. We have our code of ethics and most importantly we have each other.  Anyone who has been in this field long enough knows that this might be a tall order, but perhaps it is also known that inside social work lay the raw passion to create something so lofty and monumental.

American needs its social workers because they might not remember that their leaders are supposed to inspire them more often than they disappoint. America needs its social workers because people have forgotten that they DESERVE to be well lead by people who take office out of a sense of duty not self interest . We deserve to be reminded that the Declaration Of Independence, Bill of Rights, and the Constitution were born out an Enlightenment Era that had this “foolish” notion that people had a natural right to be free from economic and spiritual oppression. There might not be a profession capable of rectifying such a lofty set of demands, but if there is one, surely social work lay at the top of the list. In their foolishness, Mr. Smith and Mr. Holloran might be teaching us a lesson, the very people who America needs to lead must also be the people who do not seek to do so.

Written By Matthew Cohen
SJS Staff Writer