Civic Morality: Part I Introduction

 

“To suppose that any form of government will secure liberty or happiness without any virtue in the people is a chimerical idea." James Madison in the Virginia Convention.

            Our current post-post-modern culture eschews any discussions of morality, personal or civic. Yet the corrosion or weakening of civic morality produces grievous effects in our cultural and civil life, and I believe a return to or strengthening of civic-morality would address many of the problems our nation faces. As a practicing Christian, I have often avoided discussions of Civic Morality, thinking any such discussions tainted by a lack of emphasis on the Bible. I was quite wrong in my approach. When we abandon the concept of civic morality and instead embrace a more nihilistic or laissez-faire approach to societal interaction, we head down a road which leads away from a well-functioning society and good governance.

Our current struggles would be eased by the embrace of civic morality. But what exactly is civic morality? As defined by PhD Herzog Civic morality is the belief that engaging in social life is good coupled with acting in ways that are intended to benefit others beyond the self and ultimately to promote public good. Patricial Herzog PhD in “Handbook of the Sociology of Morality, Volume 2” Halman and Gelissen go on to further distinguish civic morality from personal morality by describing civic morality as having to do with activities such as public law compliance, respect for public order, and obedience to norms and rules, in “Values in Life Domains in a Cross-National Perspective.” While these are excellent starting points, I believe we should go on to lay out some of the foundational beliefs and activities that make up civic morality.

I would define civic morality in the following way: Civic morality is a constellation of beliefs and behaviors shared by a society or culture that shape and undergird acceptable norms of behavior within that society and that promote the good or betterment of all its members. I’m not talking about a moral code arising from  a specific religious practice or affiliation. Instead, I want to examine core values that a culture or society seeks to inculcate from one degree to another in all its members to better facilitate the smooth functioning of society and the overall betterment of all its members. While a society or culture will not always have full consensus regarding the exact definition of civic morality, a general consensus keeps a society or culture working together for the benefit of all its members. Over the next few weeks, I will post a series of essays discussing civic-morality. In these essays, we will examine truthfulness, courageousness,  faithfulness (personal and corporate), generosity, kindness, civility, cooperation, patience, and forgiveness. While there are many others, these nine virtues, when embraced, taught, and reinforced by a society or culture, help shape a state in which the most people benefit from and grow. Examining these traits as practiced by a culture helps us understand their importance and provides insight into how we might go about encouraging them.

As we head into the coming elections, thinking through the importance of civic morality and how various candidates embrace and represent these traits weighs heavily on my mind. Our current political process, so heavily influenced by party affiliation and well-heeled and often shadowy doners, gives little thought to the moral fitness of a candidate. This is a problem that afflicts both parties, exerting a pernicious and corrosive effect on public policy and governance. Too many of our office holders, untethered to any fixed societal moral code, make decisions that effect millions of people across the nation. Frequently these policy decisions benefit a small handful of political allies and are injurious to many others, sometimes even the majority of the electorate. We need to evaluate our candidates on the fitness of their civic morality. At its best, government in a representative republic requires compromise, the give and take of our political process. Even though for many citizens compromise is a dirty word, effective and good governance requires it. Those candidates who best exemplify our civic-morality possess the character needed to navigate the often-murky waters of government. We need to evaluate candidates on their character more than their pronouncements of party fidelity. This is why a return to character matters and civic-morality is so very important. Additionally, civic-morality undergirds the smooth function of our society, culture, business. All of the values listed above enable us to work together with some degree of confidence in our neighbors and business partners. Embracing them and encouraging their growth will improve all of our lives, daily and long term.

Please leave a comment, like, or dislike. 

Budgets Speak

 

            Each month Christy and I engage in a small, but important, ritual. She sits down and sorts out the details of our budget. We set goals together, but she handles the heavy lifting of developing the detailed plan. She records it on a card and gives it to me. Then I fulfill my portion of the Robinson Budgetary Process, better known as the RBP. I go online and move money and pay bills via the internet. It is a small part, but it is my part, and I enjoy doing it. If you were to examine them, those cards speak loudly about our priorities as a couple.

            Peruse those cards and you will get a good picture of what we think is important. On each card you will find house and auto payments. Since we live on a dirt road that is frequently covered in snow during the winter and Christy often drives to Lubbock by herself, I support the expense of a good all-wheel-drive car. You will find out which charities we support and from that data glean a bit about where our heart lies. What we do with our share of this world’s resources says a lot about our morality. We are among the blessed who enjoy more resources than we need. And truth be told, for most Americans that is the case. Oh, we may get ourselves into such a situation that every dollar is spoken for; but, that is more due to our rapacious appetite than our actual physical needs. Just as our budgetary plans reveal what is important to us, our nation’s budget reveals our corporate priorities.

            A scan of the most recent budget proposals from the House of Representatives and the White House says much about what we consider important. Evidently, we consider providing tax relief to the wealthiest much more important than taking care of the most vulnerable in our society. Despite our protestations regarding deficit spending, we’re quite willing to add another trillion or so to the national debt to fund tax relief for the wealthiest and defense industries. We do not mind cutting out support for women, infants, and children. Medicaid designed to ensure that weakest among us do not go without basic healthcare is less important than a new weapons system…or two…or three. Protecting the environment, something we all depend on, does not rate very highly in our estimation, nor does improving our infrastructure, another thing we all depend upon. Our draconian reductions to the USAID budget send a very clear message to the world.

            We just do not care about those who suffer. All foreign aid consumed 1.17% of the budget in 2023.¹ Despite this rather parsimonious effort, our current administration has gone to great lengths to not only eradicate those funds, it has also sought to shutter the USAID department. These actions speak loudly concerning our priorities. They tell the world that we just do not care about those who suffer. We have no interest in the problems that they face. We cannot really justify these reductions as part of a plan to address the problems of our own people since we’re cutting what we spend to help our own population or poor families.

            If we want to be a nation known for our compassionate care for those who are less off, we must be willing to adjust our budget to reflect that. Contrary to popular belief, most taxpayers in the U.S. enjoy a lower tax rate than most of the rest of the world.² We think we’re highly taxed; however, an examination of the data shows otherwise. We also like to think that current government programs transfer wealth from the top to the bottom. Again, the data shows that is not the case.³ If we want to make judicious decisions regarding the construction of our budget, we must do so from an informed perspective.

            We must carefully think through our societal goals and the budgetary decisions that support those goals. For those of us who have the means, will we willingly allocate the funds needed to help the less off, or will we simply hoard our blessings to satiate our own desires. I believe that there are adequate resources to enable us to enjoy a high standard of living while helping those who are less off. After all, all of us have received help of some sort or another in our journey. We should willingly help those who are less well off. While we make lofty sounding pronouncements about concern for those less fortunate, our budget speaks more loudly. We wring our hands and spill much ink over a national debt; however, our budget shows that we do not really care. We like to believe that our economic system enables people to move from poverty to middle class; yet, our budget erects or strengthens barriers to such transitions. We talk about protecting the American Farmer, while we eviscerate the mechanisms and programs that support rural life. Our words paint one picture while our actions seek to erase that reality.

            If we want to live in a nation which fosters the spread of democracy, shows compassion for the weakest, and builds a thriving middle class, we must address our budget. Future generations will well understand our hypocrisy. They will read our words and evaluate them by our actions. I suspect that they will find us wanting in moral courage and strength of character.

           

1. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/02/06/what-the-data-says-about-us-foreign-aid/

2.  https://www.worlddata.info/income-taxes.php

3.  https://www.epi.org/explorer/international

Valuing Life and Families

 

With the issuance of the “Dobbs V. Jackson” ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court rolled back “Roe V. Wade” and the ensuing series of decisions that sustained it. Anti-abortion activists heralded this as a great victory. But is the fight for life and family values over? Can those of us who claim to embrace the sanctity of life and support the family stop and rest now? Is that struggle over? I do not think so. I do not think our responsibility as a civilization and nation ends once a child is born. We ought to set the conditions for long-term success. The more of us who excel and reach our full potential the better off we will all be. So, here are a few things that those of us who fall into the “sanctity of life” and “family values” might turn our energies toward.

1.     Wage Disparity: Far too many men and women must work multiple jobs in order to make ends meet. A man or woman ought to be able to work a forty hour a week job and support their family. They should make enough so that both partners do not have to work. While both parents working is viable, it ought not to be necessary to enjoy a decent standard of living for a family. We need to support those practices and policies that lead to better wage distribution.

2.    Access to Healthcare: We should be ashamed that we’re the only industrialized nation that does not provide healthcare for all of its citizens. While challenging, this is not in the too hard to do box. We can develop a system that provides for all citizens and supports a thriving medical community/industry. No one should have to choose between paying their bills and getting adequate healthcare.

3.     Access to Quality Education: We need to elevate the societal resources we direct toward education. Too many of our programs bleed much needed funds from public schools. We need to address the excessive costs of public university education. Monies spent on education are an investment in the health of our nation and society. We should seriously consider backing away from high stakes testing and return professional development and management of teachers to principals. As part of this effort, we need to stop the endless criticism of teachers and instead elevate them as professionals who dedicate their lives to educating future doctors, lawyers, engineers, plumbers, electricians, carpenters, and other professionals we need for our society to function. The majority of teachers maintain a razor focus on their content area. Contrary to popular opinion, they do not have time for extraneous material. We should let them teach and stop berating them.

4.    Access to Housing: We should work hard to address the lack of adequate housing in our country. We need to build more homes and find ways to help first time buyers. We need to push back against the sad proclivity towards NIMBY, or not in my back yard. A benefit of programs that create more housing is that they would also create more jobs in construction and other trades. Growing up and living in a decent neighborhood should be the expectation of all, not the experience of a privileged few.

5.     Access to the Arts: I grew up in a situation which afforded me access to the arts. Naturally, my parents exerted profound influence on that consumption, often requiring my participation. But that access opened my mind to new possibilities and broadened my horizons past the West Texas that surrounded me. Of course, they ensured that I imbibed in the rich culture and arts of West Texas as well. When we invest in arts, ensuring public access to beauty, we enrich all our population and elevate our society. Of course, this comes with a certain tension; after all, what I consider art may not pass your scrutiny, and that is okay. Through the corporate support of the creation of beauty we elevate our culture and citizenry.

Those of us who consider Family Values and the Right to Life as critical might consider taking up these challenges. We want to create a culture that not only embraces the sanctity of life but also promotes a high quality of life for all its citizens. Some might argue that these things are too expensive; however, I would point out that a stratified culture with an underclass that exists in perpetual poverty and squalor comes with its own expenses. A society should protect the most vulnerable of its members and enable them to grow and thrive throughout their lives. Those of us who value life and the family ought to agitate for the policies mentioned above as they directly impact the quality of life of the individuals and families that make up our society. When all of us prosper and reach our full potential as citizens our entire nation will prosper.