Scandalous behavior from our elected officials seems so common nowadays. Several sexual scandals here, a corruption charge there and even an example of blasphemy from the President of the United States.

As citizens, we should, rightfully, demand accountability and the ousting of leaders who have misused their positions of power. However, we should also take a good look at ourselves, and examine if we, as a society, are forming an environment that produces such leaders. After all, leaders in a democratic society are individuals that have been chosen from the wider population. In essence, leaders are a reflection of those who they lead.

We have been complacent, allowing exaggerated images and depictions of sex to cause not the liberation of women, but a commodification of them—resulting in men in power adopting a mindset that sex is freely available. We all complain about corruption, but how many students in high schools and universities cheat their way through their diplomas and bachelors degrees? Those incensed at the President’s most recent Truth Social post have often neglected several of his past statements that utilized the name of God in immature ways. Of course, leaders who commit abuses of power or inappropriate behavior are responsible for their individual actions. At the same time, a complacent attitude is what allows such corruption to materialize in the first place.

We are all hypocrites in some ways, and we often make the vehicles on which immoral behavior runs in our country. Let us continue to call out bad leaders, while also collectively examining ourselves during this time of scandal and controversy.