Sam Ervin Quotes
Our citizens do not know whom to believe, and many of them have concluded that all the processes of government have become so compromised that honest government has been rendered impossible.
Because of conflicting information about the Watergate break-in and cover-up:
Samuel J. Ervin Jr., 1896-1985, U. S. Congressman & U. S. Senator (Democrat, NC), May 17, 1973
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
There is no written record of this conversation. The source is the Nixon Oval Office tapes.
We live in a time where people are losing confidence in the ability of Government to solve problems.
The public confidence in government had hit an historical low during the administration of George W. Bush during which his administration was riddled with ideologues who had little competence and less inclination to solve problems. However even in those cases where the Bush administration wanted to succeed, they usually failed producing such fiascos as Hurricane Katrina, the aftermath of the invasion of Iraq, shipping nuclear weapons components my mistake to Taiwan, illegal disclosure of the identity of CIA covert agents, and others.
One major theory is that most Government lies are perpetrated by Appointees who will only be working for the government for a few years. By the time the truth comes out, they are no longer in office and cannot be affected much by the revelation of the truth. The law actually protects most Federal Officials from criminal or civil penalties for most lies told while in office.
If a government can classify embarrassing information, then it does not have to lie which is why over-classification is so prevalent. But then the officials have to lie in the classification process by claiming national security is involved as opposed to their own or their party’s security from embarrassment. Most officials prefer to tell the truth and not deceive the public. However, a large proportion have their moral instincts compromised by confusing the national interest with the politicians’ interest
Samuel James Ervin Jr. was an American politician. A Democrat, he served as a U.S. Senator from North Carolina from 1954 to 1974. A native of Morganton, he liked to call himself a "country lawyer", and often told humorous stories in his Southern drawl. During his Senate career, Ervin was a staunch defender of the Jim Crow laws and racial segregation, as the South's constitutional expert during the congressional debates on civil rights. Paradoxically, he was also known for his support of civil liberties. He is remembered for his work in the investigation committees that brought down Senator Joseph McCarthy in 1954 and especially for his investigation of the Watergate scandal in 1972 that led to the resignation of Richard Nixon.
