https://www.npr.org/2023/02/15/1157049312/george-santos-politics-of-shame
"There was a time when shame was a powerful force in American politics. That time is not now." [NPR]
George Santos (he of many names) is flagged in the article as the poster child of the moment, but there are so many recent examples (McCarthy, Scott, Cruz, Gingrich, Nixon, and more) and new ones continue to arise (Luna). However, I think the positioning of the assertion is wrong and I want to flip it around because I think a different perspective sheds more light on the consequences.
Honor was once a force in politics, but honor is now dead in American politics. [me]
Where once people would serve in government from a sense of honor, when once their behavior was guided by a sense of honor, that was a time when government was a productive factor in life. Remember Eisenhower who built the Interstate Highway System? Remember Kennedy who inspired the lunar landings? Remember Johnson who brought voting rights to oppressed peoples? Even Nixon brought us clean air and water through the EPA (although he failed in so many other ways).
Then came Nixon and Gingrich who discarded honor for self-advancement, who left shame on the sidelines to achieve dubious ends. Their descendents - from Trump to McCarthy, Gree, Gaetz, Cruz, Rubio, Scott, and others - these people seem to have embraced shame and willful stupidity as badges of honor (irony just died. Again.)
When honor is restored to government, then shall we have the government we deserve.
