OPINION: At Last, We Are Waking Up To Our Need for Good Ethics?

The Right Emphasis
By Doug May

By Doug May
After a decade of fraud and corruption and with no end in sight, it is not surprising that people are talking about ethics. Good ethics, it seems, are in short supply. Kenneth Lay and others at Enron took home millions in stock options, by “cooking the books.” There was similar corruption in leadership at WorldCom, Qwest, Tyco International, HealthSouth and others. Just when we thought it couldn’t get any worse, Bernard Madoff’s $50 billion swindle was exposed.
Is it any wonder that this is reflected in our children? In 2008, 30,000 students in 100 high schools were surveyed. Thirty percent said they had stolen something in the past year and 64 percent admitted they had cheated on a test.
Here in New Mexico, we have corruption at all levels: two former state treasurers, the head of the Senate and the secretary of state have all been convicted. Investigations into the handling of the State’s investments is ongoing. Corruption is common at all levels in government and in the private sector.
The encouraging thing is that our legislators in the 2010 session saw the need for higher ethical standards. A total of seven bills were sponsored dealing with ethics. On Jan. 25, the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce purchased a full page advertisement in the Albuquerque Journal and devoted 20 percent of its message to five specific recommendations dealing with ethics.
The struggle to create an ethics commission has not been easy. Sarah Welsh, executive director of the Foundation for open Government said that her group still can’t support a bill that has closed proceedings and no documentation available to the public. Sean Olson of the Albuquerque Journal quoted Stuart Bluestone, special counsel to the attorney general who said “that without bipartisan support, the commission would be started with a cloud of suspicion that would erode public public trust.”
A fair ethics commission would be a welcome step forward, but much more is needed. The two important factors to reduce abuse of power are 1) checks and balances and 2) personal ethics.
There are no checks and balances when an official that appoints a board or commission and then sits as the chairman. It is prone to abuse. Any body whose meetings, minutes and decisions are not open to the public are prone to abuse. The public media can provide some checks and balances if they have access to the information. The financial records of any public organization should be yearly audited and financial reports made available monthly or at least quarterly. Regulatory boards should be monitored closely. We should be careful to provide checks and balances at every level of government.
Good personal ethics is probably the most important factor and the most difficult to promote. Personal ethics are those standards that a person adopts freely for himself or herself. Everyone has some ethical standards that guides their actions. Some personal ethics are good and some are bad.
The following are some examples:
 • Treat others the way you would want them to treat you.
• Finders keepers, losers reapers.
• It ain’t my job, man.
• Be prepared.
• Do what you have to do to reach your goal.
• All is fair in love and war.
• Be content with what you have.
• Never admit you were wrong.
• You should never rat on someone in your group.
• Tell the truth.
I would like to hear some of your ethics (dougmay@sdc.org). Next week’s article will address good ethics.
Checks and balances and good personal ethics are essential for a free society. The late Paul Harvey frequently reminded us that self-government cannot exist without self-control.

Doug May is a retired Lutheran pastor and his views do not necessarily represent the Mountain Mail.

OPINION: At Last, We Are Waking Up To Our Need for Good Ethics?