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In my last newsletter, I argued that Donald Trump would now have to deal with an articulate and persistent (and American) moral voice in Pope Leo XIV and that I hoped the clash would moderate some of the most extreme and unethical practices of his administration. “Never going to happen,” commented one of my readers! I may hope for too much here, but I do believe an awareness of exactly what moral norms are being violated will ultimately point the way back from this dystopian period. Once we have a clear understanding of the core moral views being challenged, we can then recognize the specific actions and attitudes that are threatening them. We can prepare to articulate our own moral convictions and to exercise some of the needed moral leadership ourselves to defend them. We can identify the actions we can personally take to register our objection and to work toward a restoration of moral decency. But the first step is to have that specific moral awareness of the principles under fire. For today’s newsletter, I identify the specific moral values and principles I believe are most under fire and at risk in America today. Here is my short list: All human beings have rights and are worthy of respect. This core principle of Pope Leo’s comments and of most religions’ morality is also the most basic value in the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights, and, not incidentally, in the U.S. Declaration of Independence. Attempts to label illegal immigrants as vermin or to create cruel policies that belittle non-white, non-Christian, or non-Anglo-Saxon people as less human are abhorrent. All people have an obligation to help the poor, the sick, and the disadvantaged. Compassion and empathy are not weaknesses; they are moral obligations. To argue that individuals, or the U.S. as a nation, have no responsibilities to the less fortunate, whether in the U.S. or abroad, is blasphemy. Those with more wealth and resources have more obligations to others. The current fashion in Silicon Valley and among some billionaires to argue that they, or America as the richest country, have less rather than more responsibility, flies in the face of moral principle and our own American history of generosity. To hold public office is an opportunity to serve, not to exploit others for one’s enrichment. Self-enrichment and exploitation of one’s office is betrayal of the public. Today, there are too many instances of such betrayal to count, sadly. One’s government power must not be used for private purposes, particularly for vengeance against one’s enemies. In short, “no kings.” Every time the power of the government is harnessed to punish one’s enemies, it is an abomination against core moral beliefs. All citizens have a right to participate in government. When voting is suppressed, legitimate protests are punished, or the normal workings of government are distorted, the right of citizens to participate and benefit from government is denied. All persons have a right to equal treatment under the law and equal access to the law to defend themselves. To have the law and justice system distorted to serve the interests of one individual or group, or to discriminate against selected groups, violates one of the most sacred functions of the law. Care for the environment so it can serve future generations. Leo’s predecessor, Pope Francis, raised one’s obligation to the environment to be a core ethical principle. He described the moral obligation as “care for our common home,” arguing that we are honoring a concern for future generations, as well as a respect for creation itself. To deny climate change as a hoax because it is inconvenient or expensive is to deny this core ethical principle.
You may have other key moral principles you think are most under fire. Please send me a short note, and I will include them in the next newsletter. Having identified the core ethical values at stake today, we can both play our role in keeping those ethical principles alive, but we can also advocate for and defend others whose faithfulness to these values leads them to be prosecuted and retaliated against. A few years back, a popular book argued that the Irish “saved civilization” during the Middle Ages by sustaining knowledge and moral sensibilities in their monasteries. Their scholars and scribes recorded and reminded others of the treasures they held in their libraries. One hopes we are not headed for another “Dark Ages” (!)—but the core work of reminding ourselves constantly of the treasure of the moral principles that undergird our American nation can be a similar noble cause.
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