The phrase, “The fish rots from the head,” is sometimes used to express the idea that all problems in a company or country can be traced back to its leadership. The phrase suggests that corruption enters a country through its leaders, filters down to its citizens and, in some classic tragedies, even affects the environment. The example that immediately comes to mind is Agamemnon.

But does the phrase “The fish rots from the head” hold true in a republic like the United States, where all citizens have the right to vote?

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Until recently, my wife and I were using Nokia 6102i phones. The phones weren’t anything special–the shell was fragile (which can be forgiven, since the phone was Nokia’s first clamshell design), the menus were laggy, and the phone had very little storage space. The features, on the other hand, were pretty good. MP3 ringtones, Java games support, speed dialing, Bluetooth support, and, best of all, voice dialing. When driving and using my Motorola H700 headset, I could tap the button on the side of the headset and issue a simple voice command and the phone would dial out. I could make calls safely and conveniently while driving.

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