Missing Ethics?!

Post #51

There are two surprising omissions in the textbooks I use to teach my class in State & Local Government at Montgomery College.  The first oversight is the vital role of the nonprofit sector.  Even more egregious, in my view, is the lack of any material on the topic of ethics.  The absence of ethics in politics (perceived or real) is the source of many Americans' cynicism about their government.  How often have we heard comments like, “They're all crooks!” as we talk with friends about our nation’s leaders?

To remedy this omission, I have added to the curriculum an entire class devoted to the topic of ethics.  I show a DVD on the topic from the National Conference of State Legislators.  I also asked students to research various public figures whose transgressions have either marred or totally destroyed their careers.  They presented reports on people including Spiro Agnew, Kenneth Lay, Gary Hart (whose name was completely unfamiliar to every one of my students!), and Robert Pilatus of Milli Vanilli.  Some of the people had gone to jail; most had not.  Information about their wrong-doing, however, was easy to find in the briefest biographical overview.

The students’ greatest surprise tends to be the variety of ways that people had gotten into trouble.  Transgressions included 'traditional' embezzlement to deception to misuse of the prestige of office or of taxpayer money.  Even when taxpayer money is not directly involved, perception matters.  The loss of trust or confidence is enough to politically disable an otherwise effective political leader. My classes reviewed the records of Maryland legislators with questionable ethics; I believe that more rigorous and frequent disclosure requirements and consultations with ethics staff in Annapolis could have avoided some of these disastrous decisions.  

Everyone in public life professes to support high ethical standards; it’s how these same officials act in a non-election year or when the spotlight of the press isn’t upon them that counts!

I would love to hear from you, dear Blog reader!  Do you think we hold the public sector to unreasonable standards?  Is it ever possible to have an ethical lapse and retain the people’s confidence? Please send an email to Blog@CherylKagan.org or click on the "Comments" link below to express your views.  Please be sure to indicate which post (#51) you're addressing.

Thanks for reading.  I will post again soon.