Morals and morale may be at an all-time low in the U.S.

By Vernon A. Williams, Gary Crusader

This is a bad reality TV program. A train wreck.

Every day it gets worse.

Despicable conduct. Immoral behavior. Tenets of decency and “the American Way” have been diluted into corrupt national leadership content to rebut allegation after allegation with the lame comeback, “But is it illegal?”

In other words, if they are managing to tightrope the law, anything goes. And some contend no one cares.

Ted Cruz rations that voters “back home” are not asking about Russia. They are more concerned about health care and jobs. This is from the party that seeks tax breaks for the rich, fights raises in minimum wage, and threatens to trash affordable health care.

Nobody should be surprised. When 45 was a candidate, he said: “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing.”

In another interview, asked if he would repudiate Putin for meddling in our election, he responded, “I won’t tell Putin what to do. If he has them (emails), I’d like to see them.”

We see the U.S. attorney general come before the Senate and insist that he “can’t recall” whether he was engaged in certain incriminating meetings, conversations and activities. Others refuse to take the Fifth Amendment, but refuse to answer scrutiny.

Look at how many administration appointments have been fired or quit at this point. Look at how many scandals are in progress.

This comes in the wake of a presidency that was heralded by all as the most scandal-free in U.S. history. And yet the obsession of the White House is to obscure the legacy of President Obama by whatever means necessary.

The tension is palpable from coast to coast. It is manifesting itself in hate crimes, which have risen 11 percent over the past year. Bad behavior has gotten to the point that no one is shocked by it. The question of police brutality is not even a conversation, even though almost every day a new horrifying video goes viral.

The federal government ethics czar walked away from his job unceremoniously over the past week. Can you blame him? Ethics in America is a joke. There is more mob mentality that if you can’t catch me – I did nothing wrong.

What in the world are we teaching the children with this awful behavior? That’s an easy one. We are teaching them to have contempt for people who are different, to do whatever it takes to win – even if it means cheating and stealing, and to lie until getting caught…then just deny.

A study this week indicated that an increasing number of Republicans believe higher education is doing more harm than good for our country and our democracy. That rationale is so convoluted that it’s impossible to wrap your mind around it.

Two men come to the defense of a Muslim woman under attacked and are stabbed to death. The White House is silent. A Black graduating college senior bound for the armed forces as an officer is murdered – no outrage. A Black American is beaten to death at a bar in Greece – no sympathy or anger from anyone in charge.

There is consistent marginalization of people of color in this country and rather than moving closer to resolving the racial chasm that plagues us, this nation has opted not to even put intolerance, hatred, prejudice and bigotry on the table.

And while all of this happening, you get nothing but murder, robberies and similar snatches from the police blotters on the local news while the national news has turned into all politics, all the time – and not in a deep way that explores the breadth of issues that affect us. Only as it pertains to the administration – pro and con – and its priorities.

Finally, where are the critics? We heard much from Tavis Smiley, Cornell West, and other outstanding Black intellectuals regarding the shortcomings of Mr. Obama. They speak more softly when at all when it comes to the current leader of the free world. There is something emphatically wrong with that picture.

As stated at the beginning, it’s a reality show – an awful one – starring a man who has failed at virtually everything he has ever done. In the end, this won’t be any different. His devastating reality show is certain to be cancelled after the first season.

The only question is, how much harm will be done at that point and how long will it take the United States of America to recover from this nightmare?

CIRCLE CITY CONNECTION by Vernon A. Williams is a series of essays on myriad topics that include social issues, human interest, entertainment and profiles of difference-makers who are forging change in a constantly evolving society. Williams is a 40-year veteran journalist based in Indianapolis, IN – commonly referred to as The Circle City. Send comments or questions to: [email protected].

 

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