Politics as Morality in Practice

The main task of the present generation of politicians is not, I think, to ingratiate themselves with the public through their decisions or their smiles on television. It is not to go on winning elections and ensuring themselves a place in the sun till the end of their days. Their role is something quite different: to assume their share of responsibility for the long-range prospects of our world and thus to set an example for the public in whose sight they work. their responsibility is to think ahead boldly, not to fear the disfavor of the crowd; to imbue their actions with a spiritual dimension (which of course is not the same things as ostentatious attendance at religious services); to explain again and again – both to the public and to their colleagues – that politics must do far more than reflect the interests of particular groups or lobbies. After all, politics is a matter of serving the community, which means that it is morality in practice. And how better to serve the community and practice morality than by seeking in the midst of the global (and globally threatened) civilization their own global political responsibility: that is, their responsibility for eh very survival of the human race.
(From a speech by Vaclav Havel at Harvard University)