There’s plenty of hot topics to write about these days. From how in just a few short weeks, we’ve sold out America’s core values and turned viciously on our long-standing allies by shockingly siding with the murderous dictator, Vladimir Putin. Or how a super billionaire is taking his chainsaw and woodchipper willy-nilly, firing tens of thousands of government workers without notice, without cause, and with great suspicion that some of these agencies oversee his business operations. The list of egregious behaviors is long and expanding daily.
How did we get here so fast? From most admired nation to feared provocateur and international “woodchipper?” To a country where our promises and commitments aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on? This doesn’t actually happen with just one or two men. Some 50.1% of voters voted for what has led to this. This is our collective doing.
That there’s a lot of discontent in our country is not denied. That people want change is clear: Our “system” is working for the well-to-do and isn’t working well for the not-well-off. Our middle class struggles with groceries and nearly 50% of Americans have less than $1,000 in expendable savings. Living on the edge certainly creates desire for disruptive change. And disruptive overturning of our past norms and values is exactly what we’ve got.
Along the way that led to all this is that we’ve collectively lost our way from who we used to be. Morally, ethically, performatively. Our slumping ethical standards have us accepting leader behaviors that previously would result in out-of-hand rejection and massive election loss. These behaviors have helped to put the middle class into the tight spot they’re in … and it’s happening not just now, but for the past few decades and from all sides of the aisle.
I used to be a Boy Scout. My wise mom knew that as a young man in a fatherless household, I’d be well served by strong leadership examples and the “toughening up” that Scouts provided. First, a Cub Scout, then Webelos, then full-fledged Boy Scout – the experience taught me valuable real-world skills that continue to help me to this day. From tying knots to public service, to doing good deeds daily, the Boy Scouts helped me keep my balance and prepare for a productive life as an adult.
The very first thing in Scouting was memorizing and living the Boy Scout Law and Scout Oath. These are the baseline traits and ethics that were globally accepted back then, and set the standard for how we expected to conduct ourselves and what to expect in all others:
The Scout Law:
A Scout is: Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean, And Reverent.
The Scout Oath reflects how these ethics are to be lived out:
On my honor, I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.
The Girl Scouts set similar standards with their own law and oath.
These laws and oaths set standards by which so many of us were raised form the 1950s through a decade or two ago. Perhaps these values and behaviors have become passe. Maybe they’re viewed as just corny ideas from some other age … just an Andy Griffith pre-internet black-and-white TV script. Liberals may feel they’re not reflective of our “diversity.” They may chafe at the word, “God,” and not realize this always represented one’s personal convictions. Conservatives may feel they’re too judgmental of all our common failed human nature. They’re too hard to live out in the real world of today. But back then, these standards were our law, and we all made oaths to keep them. And for the most part, most did.
Too many of us have forgotten what so many of us once memorized and recited. We’ve forgotten that, as young adults and beyond, this is what our peers, families, neighbors and country expected of us. And what we expected of others.
Call me sentimental. But if we want to truly make America great again, greatness starts with our individual standards and behaviors. And greatness is reflected in the morality and conduct we expect and demand from our leaders. Caution here because we’re compelled to settle for what we settled for. “For as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” Proverbs 23:7. We will reap what we sow from the leaders we sow.
Leaders who can’t check these boxes shouldn’t ever make the cut. Many in the past have lived up to these standards and a few still do. I think of the great John McCain – a man who exemplified this as much as anyone. Or Jimmy Carter – a man who showed us firsthand how to live out an honorable and purposeful life. I think our past Congressman, Mike Garcia, notched this list well, and I’ll bet he was a Scout growing up. But the Scout Oath scores crash quickly as we go up the ladder to today’s Executive Branch with the associated Cabinet leaders.
Let’s pull out the Scout Oath or commitments similar to it, and set our standards high again:
For what we expect of ourselves. For what we expect from our neighbors.
And importantly, for what we expect of those who’ve sworn to serve us.
Gary Horton’s “Full Speed to Port!” has appeared in The Signal since 2006. The opinions expressed in his column do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Signal or its editorial board.
