OUR DANGEROUS SLIDE INTO THE MIRE: TRUMP’S CONTAGIOUS CORRUPTION OF OUR MORAL COMPASS

We have entered a very dark and appalling time in our country when all sense of any moral compass has been stripped away by a daily display of hatred, intolerance, indifference and lack of compassion by our President and his supporters and apologists. The most recent example that has sparked outrage from members of both political parties and across the world has been his vicious and crude labeling of immigrants coming from what he called “shithole” countries. It is sadly and disturbingly apparent that Donald Trump is a complete disgrace to the office he holds and to the country he is supposed to be leading. His utter lack of empathy, his self-aggrandizement, and his unchecked greed unquestioningly merit our total condemnation and rejection. However, the danger he poses goes beyond his unchecked abuse of his power and his repeatedly violations of moral decency.

While one can persuasively argue that Donald Trump is most culpable of these glaring transgressions, he is certainly not alone in holding such vile prejudices and harboring such hatred. How many times have members of the Republican Party turned a blind eye to his harmful and hurtful words and actions? Haven’t they thrived on his trammeling over human rights and attacking the weak and vulnerable? Witness their repeated efforts to deprive millions of Americans of health care while enriching health insurance and pharmaceutical companies. Or their ongoing efforts to weaken and social safety net. Or their economic policies that widen the gap between the ultra-wealthy and everyone else. And the corporate tools in the Democratic Party are not above condemnation as they continue to offer either tepid resistance to or complicity with the corporate takeover of virtually every aspect of our country.

While climate change continues to ravage our planet (as witnessed in wildfires breaking out across the planet and hurricanes wreaking havoc), both parties found time to show us all what their real priorities are by passing a $700 billion defense budget. They engage in ceaseless deceit when they tell us that there is not enough money for free public college, clean water, an updated infrastructure and any number of other measures that would contribute to the happiness and well-being of millions. Instead we channel these valuable resources into funding 900 military bases across the world at a cost of $100 billion a year. Or we use war to chew up the mind and bodies of men and women in order to aggrandize the wealthy elite ($7 trillion so far in Iraq for oil and $2 trillion in Afghanistan for its rare minerals). It is clearly not difficult to see evidence that our elected officials have abandoned the moral imperatives of compassion and justice and traded them in unbridled greed, obsession with power and the elevation of their own self-interests over those of others.

But there are two other dangers that have been created by such brazen attacks on human dignity and common decency. The first relates to those people in our country who support Donald Trump because they hold the same beliefs and values as he does. Whether we like it or not, he holds the highest political office in our country. For those who hold positions of great authority there comes a corresponding great responsibility — a responsibility which Donald Trump has consistently betrayed. It is responsibility for striving to have the highest principles and aspirations espoused by our country inform one’s words and deeds. Those who are leaders are seen by those they lead as models to be emulated.

Every time Donald Trump blatantly displays his prejudices and contempt for others, those whose share those prejudices and contempt feel confirmed in holding that worldview and emboldened in acting in accord with it. A relevant example is research that has been done on corruption in police departments. The ultimate cause of such corruption is due it being deep-seated within the system, that is, within the climate and operations of the department itself. As a result, there may be a number of individuals entering policing who want to be good cops. But when they see peers who engage in corruption who suffer not negative consequences and even thrive, their commitment to doing what right weakens and they begin to follow their example. So it is that when our President extols morally questionable beliefs and profits from corruption, many decide to follow his example and take us deeper and deeper into mire of immorality.

The second danger is posed to those who reject Trump’s beliefs and justly criticize it. An important part of opposing injustice is naming and calling out it when it occurs. Silence is a form of consent. Yet even as we find ourselves understandably offended and angered by his offenses, that same anger and contempt can become part of his dangerous contagion. Resistance to evil, if it becomes too extreme, also becomes self-defeating. There is the danger that we may begin to emulate the very thing we oppose. The recent release of the book, Fire and Fury, by Michael Wolff immediately comes to mind as a way of illustrating this point. Clearly part of what incites such interest in the book is that it offers an unvarnished assessment of the disaster of Trump’s Presidency. Hearing that others consider him an “idiot,” “moron,” and “child” vindicates the dim view that those who censure him have. Some welcome channel for the righteous indignation that we feel is provided.

But the longer the anger persists, the more there is the threat that it festers within us or becomes impotent and futile. We want to hurt Trump and his supporters just as much as they want to hurt the weak and oppressed. Or we become so thoroughly exhausted by pounding away of our moral sense that we shut down. In either case, the damage is done and Trump (and those like him) have won. We find ourselves dragged into the mire as well.

The way out of this morass at times may be challenging. But one way or another it will require us to reclaim the moral compass we were afraid of losing. The point here is not to let Trump off the hook or even to surrender the justified anger we feel toward him. It is to find a way to translate that anger into something positive, something that reaffirms moral sense of what is right and wrong, good and evil. It is not enough to know what we are against. We must reassert what we are for.

To speak then to the most recent incident. There is no likelihood that Trump will be apologetic toward those who come from what he deemed to be “shithole” countries. However, we must not let his offense go unaddressed. By all means express your disagreement and disgust toward his behavior. But let us also make certain to communicate to people of those countries that we do not share Trump’s hatred and contempt. Even though we are not responsible for his words, we can still express our apologies to those who have been hurt by them. In that way, as we fight against hatred and intolerance, we also find ways of joining with others in affirming our honoring of human dignity and opposition to injustice.