It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession.

The words of Ronald Reagan, “It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first,” are both jest and judgment. With wit sharpened by experience, Reagan compares the world of politics to prostitution, implying that many who claim to serve the public are, in truth, selling themselves—trading principles for power, favors for influence, and honor for gain. His words reveal the cynicism born of watching men in high office barter away truth as though it were coin.

In the ancient spirit, this observation echoes the warnings of philosophers who long distrusted rulers. For was it not Plato who feared that leaders, corrupted by desire, would serve not the people but themselves? The comparison to the “oldest profession” cuts deep, for it suggests that politics, like flesh for sale, often becomes a marketplace where loyalty, justice, and virtue are commodities to be purchased by the highest bidder.

Consider the history of the Roman Senate. In its early days, it was a council of honor, where men debated the good of the Republic. Yet as time passed, senators were bought with bribes, and elections were steeped in corruption. The noble office was degraded into a trade, much as Reagan describes—a resemblance to the “first profession,” where the body is sold. In Rome’s case, it was the soul of the Republic that was bartered away, until empire replaced freedom.

Reagan’s words also remind us of the danger of disillusionment. For when people believe that politics is nothing more than corruption, they turn away in disgust, leaving the field open to the very profiteers they despise. His jest is a warning: that unless citizens demand integrity, the resemblance he points to will grow ever sharper. The public must guard its leaders as one guards a treasury, for unchecked, they may sell what belongs to the people—their trust, their freedom, their future.

So let this teaching endure: politics must not become the trade of the soul. Though temptation surrounds it, though corruption lurks in its halls, leadership must be reclaimed as service, not sale. Reagan’s quip, though wrapped in humor, calls for vigilance and virtue. Let future generations remember: when rulers treat politics as a bargain of self-interest, the people suffer; but when they treat it as a sacred trust, the nation thrives.