A Broken Moral Compass

I had lunch with a friend of mine last week. He is a banker, and talked about how folks are walking away from their mortgages. They are walking away not because they have lost their jobs, or are having financial problems, but simply because their homes are “underwater.” That means the house is worth less than they paid for it, and most likely less than the mortgage.

Folks like this have a choice. They can do the right thing: keep paying their mortgage knowing they owe the money; that the value of the house will most likely return in better times; and it is the moral thing to do. Or they can do the wrong thing: walk away and stick the bank with the note and the property. Too many folks are choosing the latter instead of the former.

My friend said that years ago that wouldn’t have happened. People had respect for themselves and other people. People had honor, and did the right thing. “We have lost our moral compass,” he said. His statement gave me a moment of clarity. I think that sums up the problems of today in about a pithy a statement as one can make.

Whether it is the government or unions or big business or education or anything else, America has adopted a mentality of everyman for himself. I watched a movie the other night entitled “The Smartest Men in the Room.” It was the story of Enron. Talk about the lack of a moral compass. It should be required viewing for every business student. The scam these guys pulled off was breathtaking in its magnitude, and was void of any morality.

My wife was in Penney’s on Saturday and it was packed with teenagers being followed by herds of children. One of the clerks told here these young women were single mothers who were given a $175.00 JCP gift card for each one of their illegitimate kids. The program was part of Obama’s stimulus money, implemented through the county. The story was buried in the Vindicator under a headline relating to demolition contracts. 3400 single mothers participated. Given most of these folks have more than one illegitimate child, you can guess that it cost the taxpayer close to $100,000.00 in Mahoning County alone.

It’s not that I don’t have sympathy for these folks, but the spectacle was obscene. In light of all the sex education programs in the school and the accessibility of contraception, there is no reason for illegitimate children in this day and age other than the mothers may want them, or they have zero sense of responsibility at all. The “nobody is going to tell me what to do” entitlement mentality has to be learned. There are two ways to prevent an unwanted pregnancy: 1) use birth control, or 2) don’t have sex. Both are easy and cheap. But the moral compulsion, the moral compass, isn’t there to point in the right direction.

The lack of a moral compass is rooted in two things.

1) The elimination and degradation of religion in our society. In order to establish morality, there has to be some mechanism that establishes right and wrong. Historically, that has been in religion. It’s no coincidence that the basic moral fabric of the United States rooted in the Ten Commandments has frayed as the Ten Commandments have been moved from our public institutions. Right or wrong has to be the starting point…and the shades of gray should be the exception instead of the rule; be it stealing or sex.

2) Secular relativism has become the norm. Beginning in the 1960’s, the do it if it feels good philosophy took root and flowered in our schools, universities, and the media. It’s all about what makes me happy. I am entitled to be happy. There are no rules, just self satisfaction and feeling good. But to have aspirations and goals, one has to know the rules. Today, there are no rules. Look around. What do you see? Anger is growing in our society. People are becoming more antagonistic by the day as decency and common courtesy have given way to individual and selfish needs and desires. Walk away from the mortgage. Scam those stockholders. Have more babies out of wedlock. People are even losing the ability to talk to one another. It’s all shades of gray.

Nothing will get better in this country until boundaries of behavior are re-established based on higher moral principles other worship of the government. Until that time, we are in for a bumpy ride.