Purity = Strength

 Excellence in character is a rare trait in public lives today. When a man decides who he is and lives that life, there is an honor that cannot be feigned.
We can look to Alfred Lord Tennyson's retelling of the Arthurian Legend in Idylls of The King for an example: Sir Galahad, the Pure.

"My good blade carves the casques of men,
   My tough lance thrusteth sure,
My strength is as the strength of ten,
   Because my heart is pure."   

(http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/Galahad.htm)

  It is when men try to disguise who they are that trust is eroded. There may be something slightly off with that person that we may sense. We might not be able to identify what is wrong, but most people can tell when someone is not being true to themselves or to others. A pure heart lights the countenance of the person. Light drives away darkness.
We prepare ourselves now for another election cycle. Who do we see on the screens and hear on the radios? Are they honorable, or are they what CS Lewis referred to as "little men"? That is up to the individual to educate themselves and decide.

 "Democracy demands that little men should not take big ones too seriously; it dies when it is full of little men who think they are big themselves."

--'Notes on the Way' Time and Tide

Sir Galahad demanded of himself purity. He knew that his strength came from the disciplined rejection of the morally degrading thoughts, actions and patterns of living that tore down other men of his time.
Do we demand purity of ourselves? Of our families? Our compatriots? Our elected officials?
As we demand purity of ourselves, we improve in clarity of thought, insight and knowledge. If our eyes are on the right things, our lives will fill with light. Light is truth. Light rejects darkness. By being the people that we would desire at our head, we wordlessly require those around us to live up to the same standards. A good man can improve his neighborhood just by living true. Likewise, a bad man can degrade a neighborhood if his neighbors do not watch themselves. But you notice that a bad man does not stay long in a good neighborhood. Darkness does not long stay in the light.
Let us then be as Galahad. He knew that his heart was pure, and he was stronger for it.
A strong government is one that recognizes its strength is derived from the consent of the governed. The biggest man is he that will not demean the little man for being little. All have their place. As we elect honest people of integrity, no matter their political persuasion, the dialogue will improve, and the system of government can and will purify itself.

More CS Lewis quotes - http://www.comnett.net/~rex/cslewis.htm