…The larger culture itself has become morally empty….
David Brooks, NY Times June 7, 2016
New York Times Columnist Tom Friedman described the Republican Party as morally bankrupt.
Washington Post Columnist Richard Cohen wrote that Donald Trump is “without principles.”
People roundly condemned Speaker of the House Paul Ryan for putting his policy ambitions ahead of his values in supporting Trump despite Trump’s racist comments.
And on and on I could go about the lack of values and morality in Donald Trump and much of the Republican Party.
Some call for a moral revolution in America.
We don’t need new values, a new morality or a moral revolution.
We already have national and personal values worthy of our allegiance and commitment. Many of us simply lack the awareness and audacity to live true to our values. For many our courage has become lazy. Too many of us succumb to the worst elements in the workplace, the neighborhood, the statehouse and the congress. We gladly join with the mediocre to avoid conflict. We dumb our brains and our hearts down to fit in and give up part of our selves and lives when we do so. We stay silent and look the other way. I don’t know about you but, unlike Paul Ryan, I would say no to the team, the organization and the political party before I would sacrifice my values to be accepted by disgusting people, hollow presidential candidates or a political party on a path to irrelevance.
Had Republican primary voters been more mature, aware and value-driven and had they voted from wise discernment instead of their anger, Donald Trump wouldn’t be the Republican nominee for president of the United States. But they weren’t grownups and now the rest of us are called to be the adults in our political system.
If we are to solve the problems that engulf us, we won’t do it with the version of human being that created the problems. We need a new kind of ourselves: more awake and aware, more thoughtful, more value-driven and more loving and compassionate towards our planet, other people and ourselves. To consciously evolve ourselves takes courage. We become courageous one small brave act at a time.
Each of us can do what we can to live more true to our values in our day-to-day lives. We can stand up, speak up and put the moral implications of life front and center and do what we can to be the change in morality we want to see in others and in our leaders. In doing so, we do our part to bring forth a more mature version of ourselves.
The recent mass murders in Orlando, FL call us to do something about guns in our society. Our attitudes and behaviors towards mass violence is a form of insanity. Climate change, immigration, and income inequality continue to call for change each in their own ways. We must heed these calls to action or suffer the consequences of continued avoidance of serious issues that threaten our democracy and our way of life. We cannot stay as we are. Either we go backwards in our human evolution or we move to the future and a better people, nation and world. We are responsible. Our deepest values guide us.
Has our national character deteriorated so much, have so many abandoned their values so completely that Donald Trump, brought forth from the dark side of a small group of Americans, could actually be elected president? Will we turn our future and our nation over to this twisted and deluded man? Maybe, if masses of people stay indifferent. People need to vote on November 8, 2016.
America especially needs the young, the minorities and the immigrants—who so often don’t vote–to cast ballots for those who represent their values. You see, if we want change in this country (immigration, gun laws, income disparity, climate change and more) we can’t have 51% to 49% election results that only maintain gridlock. We need Democrats—from the top to the bottom of the ballot–to win a blow-out election that evolves our acceptance of diversity, which makes us a more alive and resilient nation, our partnership and cooperation with one another that allows every person to contribute to our success and our dependence on each other: we are all in this together.
Clear thinking and our value-driven actions must decide our destiny—not passive silence or by putting political agendas before honor.
A vote against Donald Trump who offers us “xenophobia, bigotry, misogyny and a crypto-fascist approach to government [Paul Waldman, Washington Post, June 13, 2016], may be the most moral thing each of us can do in the months ahead.
Tom's Thoughts 
It is beyond my understanding how so many people can be supporting this fraudulent, destructive, ignorant ego-maniac. President Obama’s speech today was the best speech he ever delivered and if you haven’t had a chance to listen, it’s worth the time.
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I just watched him today. Love it when speaks from the heart!
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I heard the president as well and thought it was the most appropriate thoughts in a speech to get us motivated to counter act this uncontrollable man, who if elected, would have us in a worse world mess than we already find ourselves.
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I agree with you, Tom. And am not thrilled that the alternative is Hillary Clinton. I have misgivings about her ties to Wall Street, big business and the seeming propensity for ignoring certain rules that might limit one’s power. Again, we are forced to chose the lessor of the evils, although, admittedly, Trump is a HUGE mistake, so the choice is clear. I voted for Bernie in the primary and hope he will continue to push a progressive agenda. We need people like him, Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker to take the reins in order to see a chance of real change. Although, I fear as long a Republicans continue appeal to racist, homophobic and anti-immigrant fear-based ideas and practice obstructionism, we’re in for the long unpleasant haul.
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I Feel more positive about Clinton than many do. I find her an outstanding, yet imperfect, human being. I believe she is “right” for the times. Hope I am right. But whatever one thinks, Trump cannot be elected!!
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Brilliantly said. Morally bankrupt is what I’ve been calling the political right for some time. They lack good ethics and sacrifice morality, and in my opinion their very souls, in order to satisfy their rich masters aka donors. They call liberals (Progressives) extremists when we call for equal justice or when we prefer to care for the needy and the sick instead of feeding the greed of the sociopaths in the coporate boardrooms and on Wall Street. Unfortunately for us unless we can get money out of politics and reinstate the fairness doctrine and break up the media controlled by 6 giant corporations (Telecom Act) so we get fair and accurate reporting instead of their owner’s political agenda’s we’ll have ill informed voters that a true, working democracy depends on. Thanks, Judy
From: Toms Thoughts To: spiritwalker63@sbcglobal.net Sent: Tuesday, June 14, 2016 3:46 PM Subject: [New post] A Moral Revolution? #yiv5417875188 a:hover {color:red;}#yiv5417875188 a {text-decoration:none;color:#0088cc;}#yiv5417875188 a.yiv5417875188primaryactionlink:link, #yiv5417875188 a.yiv5417875188primaryactionlink:visited {background-color:#2585B2;color:#fff;}#yiv5417875188 a.yiv5417875188primaryactionlink:hover, #yiv5417875188 a.yiv5417875188primaryactionlink:active {background-color:#11729E;color:#fff;}#yiv5417875188 WordPress.com | Tom Heuerman posted: “…The larger culture itself has become morally empty…. David Brooks, NY Times June 7, 2016 New York Times Columnist Tom Friedman described the Republican Party as morally bankrupt.Washington Post Columnist Richard Cohen wrote that Donald T” | |
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Thank You!
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Hi Tom. As always, I very much enjoyed reading your words. I agree with the sentiment. I voted Bernie for full disclosure, and will not vote either HRC or DJT. While your essay lifted my spirits, I must say that reading your additional thoughts in the comment section easily deflated them and inspired me to comment as well. The Republicans do not have a monopoly on being morally bankrupt, in fact, one could argue that it is the minority of the collective citizenry that exhibits any ability to consistently control their emotions or their minds. And now this. Its all well and good to come out against Mr. Trump, I think his approval rating is around 30%, so by all means jump on the band wagon, but to call him out and Ryan and the rest of the Republicans as morally bankrupt and lacking values, while at the same time supporting the Democrats, or more specifically Hillary, is about as hypocritical as it gets.
Perhaps if you titled your essay “But whatever one thinks, Trump cannot be elected!!” it would have better aligned with your actual agenda, not the theoretical ideal that you wrote about.
Why is it that we so often choose to “grade” our suffering over others? Donald Trump is MORE harmful than the Hillary. Hillary is everything you called Donald…and more, yet we are SO appalled at his evil, that we jump in bed with the lesser of the evils. I am not sure if it is a lack of audacity or awareness, but I know that far to often I see smart, empathetic people repeating this mistake. Here is a gun, shoot your wife or your daughter? I do not accept the premise.
With Love.
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Thanks for your thoughts and reactions. I don’t see Democrats or HRC as morally bankrupt (today) as you do. Many feel as you do and many don’t. The future will tell us more about all the players in our political dramas. As always, I could be wrong.
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While I am at a geographical distance (in Canada), I am a US (dual) citizen and am affected in more ways than “simply” as a citizen of the world. I would be “dumb-struck” to believe a Trump presidency is an actual possibility, but I do see it if voters stay home with protest “non-votes”. — see Brexit… The greatest shock to my system is what seems to be happening to the underpinning of the country; it doesn’t seem to be the US of my generation (I’m almost 80) or of the emigrant country my parents were so thrilled to become a part of in the early 1930s. The guns, the violence, the hatred, the fear, the consumerism — going to “hell in a hand-basket” seems like. I want to stay centered and believe that there is a “silent majority” out there, but why is it silent?? Ken Burns delivered a very interesting Commencement speech at Stanford U. a few days ago that is worth reading, in my opinion, to add to the re-igniting of the passion and values that you, Tom, have referred to in your piece here. I’ll be voting for Hillary from here, because I can. Imperfect, definitely. Qualified, yes. Right for the times, I believe so. In loving spirit, Eleanor
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I read the Ken Burns address. We need a big awakening as does the rest of the world. Thanks for your thoughts.
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