Opinion: Decency in life and government requires morality
As Americans we should know the importance of the Constitution to the formation of our democracy. All officers of the government, including all military personnel, swear to uphold the Constitution. Nevertheless, we should understand that there is an even more important reality that supports our nation. This reality is the morality of the people. Of course, there are different elements in morality, but a basic element is the expectation of people for decent treatment in normal interactions.
In the end, all nations are supported by the morality of the people of the land. We know from the history of the world that all nations, including our nation, have had moral failures. We can debate and should debate how to continually strengthen the morals that undergird our Constitution and improve the life of all American people, but also the life of all people in the world as much as we can in cooperation with other nations.
Here I am interested in one particular moral behavior. Though it is not always practiced by individuals, it is generally supported by most people. I thought of this particular moral behavior recently when I remembered the McCarthy hearings, which I listened to avidly when I was in college.
There came a point at which the attorney for the U.S. Army, Joseph Nye Welch, said directly to Sen. McCarthy, “Until this moment, Senator, I think I never gauged your cruelty or your recklessness. … Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?”
More:Opinion: True patriots uphold democracy, not try to destroy it
More:Opinion: Healthy self-esteem, humility combined can lift people in all parts of the world
After that confrontation McCarthy’s influence declined. Of course, we fail this standard as individuals and as a nation at various times, but decency remains a part of what we aspire to as a normal part of human interaction in our country and certainly in the interaction of political leaders. The country would suffer greatly if decent behavior was not a normal or prevailing behavior in all our public interactions. It is certainly an underlying moral requirement for living by our Constitution.
The Jan. 6 attack on our capital certainly failed the decency standard of normal behavior. It was unprecedented in our nation’s history. Not only was the behavior indecent, but the language that preceded it and has followed it is also indecent by the standards of behavior in our democracy. Violence should never be practiced or encouraged by political discourse, even though there may be strong debate. Violence has no place in our democracy because it is destabilizing and is extremely indecent behavior. Indecent behavior also includes telling falsehoods in order to achieve or retain personal or political power.
More:WNC Capitol rioter seeks probation; says he rescued officer, helped Jan. 6 committee
A hope of the large majority of Americans is that we never again see indecent violent behavior like Jan. 6, 2021. Another great hope is that people never again have the indecency to produce and cling to falsehoods about an election. These bad streaks in American history loosen important planks in the moral underpinnings of our nation and its Constitution. We greatly damage ourselves with this behavior. Indecent behaviors are built into autocracies, although they try to cover them with imposed “order,” as China did in Hong Kong and with the Uygur people and Russia is now attempting in Ukraine.
The violent streak in human nature is readily evident in American history. It was practiced openly in slavery and racial segregation days. Privileged peoples let others practice it for them in lynchings while they remained “decent.” Of course, violence connected to crime is also evil, however justified it may be in the eyes of the perpetrators.
Joseph Nye Welch will always be remembered for the way he shamed a senator for his cruel and indecent behavior. As a nation we should hold those we elect to the moral standard of decency in all its forms, including in language used that can stir up anger leading to violence, as we have all seen. Lying is another form of indecent behavior that should not be tolerated in our political discourse.
Our country can only continue on the road to creating a better society by recognizing and exposing indecent behavior, particularly in leaders at all levels. “The Big Lie” that the last election was stolen is a form of indecent behavior that has been carried on by too many who really know better. Indecent behavior shows a lack of respect for others and respect for others is an essential underpinning of our Constitution and a basic element of our democracy.
Rev. Robert L. Montgomery PhD lives in Black Mountain.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Opinion: Decency in life and government requires morality
