HOW TO TELL IF YOU’RE MORALLY BANKRUPT

by Ruth A. Sheets

I know there are a lot of politicians these days who are acting in ways that would indicate their moral compass is off kilter.  The moral structure that would have enabled them to deserve the votes they receive from constituents has moved into the bankrupt range, but it is possible they are not aware of it.

As a public service, I have put together a basic guide to moral bankruptcy.  All elected officials should read through this guide and check off the areas that correspond to their personal and public actions.  If you can acknowledge that any of these pertain to you, you are either on the edge of moral bankruptcy or you have actually arrived.

- You refuse to acknowledge that Donald Trump lost the 2020 election

- you believe there is no voter suppression going on in this country, even in Georgia with their new law

- you think that Black Lives Matter protests during the summer of 2020 were the same as the insurgency on January 6, 2021 in our nation’s Capitol and were actually carried out by the same people, and it wasn’t too bad, “I wasn’t scared”

- you feel you must inform people that you are not a racist

- you loudly proclaim that a law to insure the ability of American citizens to vote will lead to fraud and worse for a century or more

- you believe in trickle-down economics

- you thought it was OK to separate kids from their parents at the border and cage kids like animals, but of course called it something else, like deterrence

- you don’t want ANY immigrants, refugees, or asylum-seekers coming into this country, especially those of color; “they’ll take our jobs, steal our money,” and worse.

- you thought a $600 billion rescue plan would even make a dent in the suffering of people in this country due to COVID-19

- you threatened everyone in your caucus that if they voted for COVID relief there would be really bad consequences for them and you would help orchestrate it

- you signed a huge voter suppression bill in private and had an elected member of the opposition arrested so she couldn’t witness what you were doing

- you can’t imagine people wanting automatic weapons off the streets or open carry that allows people to tote around rifles in public spaces voted down

- you lie more than twice a day in public

- you sexually harass your co-workers, employees, constituents, etc. and swear you haven’t done it even though dozens of women and a few men say you have

- you blame Black people for being poor

- you don’t think you are privileged

- you think police violence against Black and Latino men is nearly always justified

- you refuse to wear a mask when in public

- you claim there is no global warming and that the mega fires and storms are just part of the normal climate cycle

- you either don’t think about farm workers at all or you ignore the terrible conditions they live under while they pick our crops and care for our animals

- you believe the myth of huge numbers of “welfare queens” and that is why you want all kinds of assistance programs cut to the bare bones until those programs are entirely gone

- you are OK with millions of Americans not having medical coverage

- you believe there is such a thing as “reverse racism” and you’ve been a victim of it

- you believe affirmative action gives people of color entrance into colleges, universities, workplaces, etc. they don’t deserve

- you are OK with Jim Crow laws and oppression because “it really wasn’t that bad, you know”

- you are OK with the advantages and benefits you get from lobbyists and vote in appreciation for what they have done for you

- you treat women as inferior to yourself by doing your best to take away their right to choose for themselves

- you bad-mouth and try to destroy labor unions for the benefit of America’s corporations whom you erroneously claim will take care of their workers properly

- you think Donald Trump was the best president in American history

- you were OK with Russian interference with our elections and were willing to lie, claiming it was really Ukraine or China who interfered

- Fox News is your only news outlet

I know this is not a complete list, so I would appreciate any contributions to this guide.  The more opportunities people have to see themselves as possibly in moral trouble, the better the chance they might act to stop it.  Naaaaah!

It seems to me that most politicians at all levels who are on the edge really don’t care and are actively working to see just how far they can go and what they can get away with.  Repairing their moral compass is just not in their best interest. 

Increasing voter suppression is the current morals buster, but if their efforts are slowed or stopped, they will find another way to advance their own power-grabbing at the expense of the most vulnerable Americans.  That is what morally bankrupt people do.  They double down and hope no one who matters will call them on it.  Maybe it’s time for We the People to actively call them out on it and get the word out.  It will be hard because alas, the morally bankrupt have access to lots of resources from fellow bankruptees.  That does not mean it is impossible.