Of course they are. But there is something that I believe is completely lost on people. In all of the religious neighborhoods there are municipal elections taking place soon. This pits neighbors against neighbors, friends against friends, chavrusas against chavrusa. The entire notion of "achdus" and "ahavas Yisroel" seems to be lost in campaigning, and [all too often] mud slinging, lashon hara and sinah, reign supreme.
Signs go up all over the place with a picture of a man with a beard and big black kippah saying "I am the best, I will do the job!!" Where is the humility? Where is Hashem in this whole story? There are people who spent many years on yeshiva and often in kollel as well. Why does being a politician permit one to lose almost all sense of modesty and humility?
The problem is that one can't conceivably be elected if he just compliments his opponent and stresses that while he will try his best, he is only human and thus susceptible to error and ultimately Hashem will decide if he succeeds.
A secular politician doesn't have this conundrum because he doesn't feel bound by any strictures mandating humility, love for fellow Jews, honesty, civility etc. etc. So Netanyahu [for example] can publicly state that is HE who is protecting the Jewish people and the State of Israel and that NOBODY can do the job as well as he can. However, this attitude SHOULD be anathema for a religious politician. But is it??
Where I am - a LOT of bad stuff is coming out. As long as there is no conflict people can fake that they like and care about each other. But come election time - you see people's true colors.
A similar dynamic applies to dating and then marriage. As long as a couple is dating, everything is hunky dory. Once they marry and the conflicts begin, a completely new side of each person is revealed and it is often NOT PRETTY. I have never witnessed a girl screaming at a boy on a date. I do know for a fact that PLENTY of wives reprimand their husband in less than hushed and respectful tones. And of course, the same applies to many husbands toward their wives.
