After several years of driving home to some Whitehall Officials that ethics matter (to the chagrin of some and the outrage of others), I wanted to share my thoughts and feelings here so as to be crystal clear on the matter.

When I was raised, I was taught/told that being an ethical person mattered and that one’s morality told the tale of their character. By all accounts my Grandfather, John Dollmeyer, was an ethical and moral man. Sometimes though, everything we do in the fight for those traits is not always what we do but can sometimes be judged on what we didn’t do. In his life, at least to others, some things that didn’t happen that perhaps should have might make one question his otherwise stellar personal ethics. However, like all humans, my dear Grandfather, in his human imperfection, must be judged on his overall record and the fact that he put out a lot of effort towards doing the right thing, always. So, sometimes our efforts towards ethics and our morality are undermined by what we didn’t do and so it is. From my viewpoint, ethics and morality are important for the enrichment of our soul and the strength of our character, that which brings us success as human beings in our personal lives and in society and, as I personally feel, as a gift we repay God with for our lives. One doesn’t kill people just because they have no desire, they also don’t because its simply, morally wrong. Of course, the real test of ethics and morality come when we do know something is wrong but we do it otherwise. This I call ‘part-time morality’ but, also, a human trait where sometimes the urge and desire for the thing you know is wrong ends up stronger than the moral fiber residing within that would help us resist that wrong. As all of us know, it’s dynamic is complex. However, we are all human beings and we all make mistakes and that is completely understandable. The amount of work we put into this area of ourselves is relative to how important we think it is to us as individual human beings. Religious leaders, leaders in government, teachers, all, instruct us on the importance of these values. If one does not attain the highest level of moral and ethical attributes, it simply means we’re human and that’s okay. Rather, it is in the trying that truly matters, that which shows our willingness to be our better selves. If one is trying, it shows they care and caring is vastly more important than getting every single morality medal pinned to your chest. If my lack of actions in this important area spill over into your life as a result of my behavior, then it is only you I have effected and is only a reflection on my character alone, that which only effects me in determining whether I fly or sink as a human being in society. So it is then as a private individual with freedom. Some try, some don’t. Some achieve spectacular results for their character, some are dismal in their efforts and, as a result, in their gains. This is the wonderful human diversity that we experience in life.  Then, there is…

Public Life

Firstly, in public life, as a public official, ethics and personal morality are so much more important. As opposed to private life, in a public capacity you are speaking and acting on behalf of everyone within the boundaries of the area you serve. That is an awesome responsibility. You, no longer alone or responsible for your character only, are now the representative embodiment of all those people.  So, when you speak and act on behalf of others, it must be in as clean an ethical and moral fashion as is possible for them, not yourself. No one expects you to be an inhuman robot in office but, if you have genuine care for those you represent that in itself should compel you to try harder than you might otherwise in personal situations.

Secondly, public office is a public trust. Colleen Lewis says it well in an article she wrote for the website, ‘The Conversation’.  She wrote, “When we entrust people with power over our lives, that power should be exercised in our interests; that obligation must always prevail over the interests of the people given the power… It follows that when (an elected official) is making a decision and the common good of the people requires one decision, but his or her personal or political loyalties and future require a different decision, he or she must always give priority to the common good.” In other words, ones own loyalties and gain must take a backseat to that of the public’s interests and gains. This leads us then to…

Conflicts of interest.

Merriam-Webster defines conflict of interest as; a conflict between the private interests and the official responsibilities of a person in a position of trust. (See: public office as a public trust)  In her article Ms. Lewis goes on to write, “In the area of open and accountable government our public trustees – both elected and appointed public servants – inevitably have to deal with a conflict of interest arising from their obligation to give priority to the public interest over their personal and political interests”. The Ethics Resource Center in Virginia clarifies why this is vital to our system. It says; “Democracies and free markets absolutely rely on the integrity (keep an eye on this word, I’ll come back to it) of their systems for the free flow of information and objective decision-making. Conflicts of interest act as a cancer that eats away at those institutions. (let that sentence sink in and keep it close) Any society that cannot effectively address or prevent conflicts of interest will soon find its democracy and its free markets in states of collapse…it is also true that public servants, especially in democracies, are generally held to higher standards than private sector counterparts. Elected and appointed government officials are expected to serve the people, not only their supervisor or agency. …values that are at the foundation of what we think is wrong with conflicts of interest. The three fundamental values in play are trust, integrity and fairness…they are at the base the fundamental concepts that inform the instrumental value-e.g. avoiding conflicts of interest”. Additionally, Ms. Lewis quotes British Prime Minister David Cameron on this topic, from 2013:

… the best way to ensure that an economy delivers long-term success, and that success is felt by all of its people, is to have it overseen by political institutions in which everyone can share. Where governments are the servants of the people, not the masters. Where close tabs are kept on the powerful and where the powerful are forced to act in the interests of the whole people, not a narrow clique.

The trust the public gives you, and that you have freely asked for by running for office, should be earned before it is merely handed over, for it is sacrosanct. Without the trust, the integrity (there’s that word again) of its systems begin their free fall and the institutions we rely on in America begin to not only fail us but deteriorate into something other than a Constitutional Republic. An analogy of the integrity of our systems of government could be likened to a cup or glass. When the integrity of its design; its bowl, its stem, its overall sturdiness, etc. is 100%, (and kept so) we can rely on it to nourish us and do good for us with what it can hold but, if we want that benefit it provides we must safeguard it, for if we don’t, it can get broken or develop holes in it from abuse or neglect and when that happens, the cup’s integrity has failed in its ability to supply us with that which was so good and needed and utilized for so long. The chips and scratches and bumps done to it in, either in commission or omission over time by various users, while not appearing troublesome at the time to them, do add their contribution to the overall weakening of the cup’s integrity. When we allow this, the keepers of the cup, (the people) we allow its slow degradation and ultimate destruction, by omission, wrongfully thinking a dent here, a chip there can certainly never prove fatal overall but, that is exactly what happens. So it is too with these perhaps innocuous-seeming or unnoticed conflicts of interest. If we fail to heed the warnings of those smarter than us on important matters like these, we have no right to register surprise and shock, or complain, when that ultimate demise happens. This is why these things, however small they may seem, matter.

Years ago, to understand my personality better and looking for greater personal success, I took the Myers-Brigg test, a psychometric test designed to better figure out what your ‘type’ is so as to give you a better understanding of what can help you succeed in life and what you’re best at. One of the things which I found (and once found, then saw so clearly) was that I am a ‘Guardian’. This is someone who monitors things (actual things, traditions, etc.) and is a caretaker of sorts. It made complete sense to me and, once found, when I’m being a ‘guardian’ in life I find I am living my life ‘on purpose’ and it brings greater personal rewards and happiness. It’s who I am.  This is why I bring this all up, because of our Constitution and because of the damage being done by some elected and appointed officials in our government who are either callous, ignorant, careless or worse, duplicitous, in their dealings in public office, those who don’t heed these conflicts of interest and help compromise the solidity and integrity of our systems. It is not because I sit on high in a moral or ethical ‘Olympus’ but rather because as a ‘guardian’ and an American it is my sacred duty, as well as every other citizens, to monitor the integrity of our government to ensure this kind of calamitous ultimate destruction doesn’t befall this country and it’s ‘systems’, those things I love so much. That’s all.