Establishing Ethical Standards for Politicians
What an Ethical Standard is Not
As one cabinet nomination after another for the Obama administration faced allegations of tax evasion. the President’s replacement for his seat in the U.S. Senate stands accused of lying under oath at the impeachment hearing of then Illinois Governor, Rod Blogjevich.
Eyes roll back in the heads of voters and knowing nods begin to indicate in unison that Washington is filling back up with the same old, same old and "here we go again". Even without direct proof as yet of criminal wrongdoing, when evening lights dim across America, a spirit of mistrust has begun to descend.
Standing astride history in the making, we look to determine how to judge what is meant by unethical conduct in those instances where criminal wrongdoing is not alleged. Consider "A Framework for Thinking Ethically" as devised by members and contributors to a paper of that title prepared by Santa Clara University’s Markkula Center for Applied Ethics in Santa Clara, California.
In this paper, scholars ask questions such as: what is our image of our better selves; how are we when we act ethically; what is an ethical community; business, society or government? To determine these parameters, we need to refer to standards of behavior.
In this context, the Center takes time to inform us what Ethics is not.
Ethics: is not the same as feelings; it is not religion; and it is not following cultural norms. Further, science alone cannot tell us what is ethical even while it collects data on research into ethical behaviors. Feelings, we are assured provides us with information for our ethical choices
In some instances, people are under the mistaken impression that if they feel good about what they have done, it must be ethical. If they feel bad, they have been unethical or wrong. An interesting twist to this consideration is that because doing what is right is often hard or difficult, we often feel bad trying to do what is hard or right.
Religious people often look to their church teachings to decide what is ethical. However, ethical conduct applies to the non-religious as well. Whether an organized religion or not, we need to recognize that no institution can address "all the types of problems we face." ("Framework for Ethical Thinking" - Markkula Center for Applied Ethics)
Even the Law does not address all that we face. Ethics is not following the Law. The Law can, in fact, deviate from what is ethical. Consider slavery. In the case of slavery, the law had become ethically corrupt. The "Framework" paper addresses how in a Totalitarian State, the law can be the function of power alone.
So too, Ethics is not cultural norms as some cultures are quite corrupt. Similarly, science is not the measure of Ethics as it can only collect data on ethical frameworks but not determine Ethics itself. This is because science can tell us what people are like but ethics provides us with reasons for how to act. Just because something is scientific or technological, it is not necessarily ethical. Thus, devising Ethical standards is not for the faint-hearted.
There are at least five standards that have been put together representing different approaches to any problem. Once an approach is identified, conduct can be measured from that standard as consistent or inconsistent with the standard. It is a place to begin. (Judith Tomsic, Esq. course on Ethics for Lawyers and Judges, U.C. Riverside - Palm Desert campus - 2007).
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