Toward a More Perfect Union: A Prescriptive Approach — Lying & Ethics
Lying
Other than when testifying under oath, lying is not a crime, though in a just and moral society it should be at least socially condemned and unacceptable, more so than it is now. Under certain conditions, however, it should be treated as a punishable offense. For example, during a political campaign, when one candidate states a verifiable lie about his/her opponent or about his/her own record, then his/her campaign should be fined a significant amount which would be added to the opponent’s treasury, and the transaction should be made public. Additionally, when a PAC publishes a verifiable lie against an opposing candidate or in favor of their own candidate, that too should be fined in a similar manner.
Likewise, when partisan commentators publicly state in the media verifiable lies about a specific office-holder or office-seeker, and when the commentator fails to retract the lie as soon as it is verified, that commentator should be liable for a substantial fine to be paid to either the victim’s political account or to the opposing party’s treasury.
The complaint could come from the offended candidate’s committee or from a petition on behalf of the offended candidate. Appeals could be made in extremely doubtful cases, but otherwise they would be beyond appeal. If an appeal is made and lost (and if the court of last resort concurs), the offender should be fined at least double the original amount.
To make such fines effective, they would have to be resolved by an independent jurist or panel of jurists. Probably most of the complaints would be made during an election season. Given that many complaints would be resolved after an election, the fines would then be forwarded to the party of the victim of the falsehood. The amount of fines could also be legislated, but – to be effective – would have to be set at a level that would be painful for the offender to pay. This being the case, fines should be set at a graduated level commensurate with the offender’s bank account. With a sufficient number of socially-conscious legislators and a willing president, this could be accomplished.
Ethics
Our state and federal governments have ethics review offices that are supposed to oversee the behavior of elected and appointed officials to restrain their worst impulses and punish them when necessary. An unfortunate characteristic of the current administration and all too many in congress is their disdain for ethics and their lack of a moral compass. Our government – now more than ever – has been rocked by sex scandals, financial misdeeds, secret deals, acceptance of control by big-money donors, and the like. People in charge of overseeing the ethics offices are too often complicit in turning a blind eye to the problems, or they are being pushed out and neutered by “superiors” who are more concerned with hiding their lapses than with governing properly.
A solution to this would be to create an ethics office that is independent of any other executive control. If we were to have an independent Judicial office that has a nationally elected attorney general, then such an ethics office could be subsumed therein. Again, giving congress (and NOT the president) oversight of the office would seem the appropriate manner to insure that we have someone guarding the guardians.
In any event, the penalties for ethical lapses should be enumerated and should have specific consequences ranging from wrist-slaps to fines to expulsion to prison. Such penalties should be applied uniformly and without recourse to party affiliation.
Continued in Part 8 — Sexism & LGBT
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Return to Part 1 — Prologue
Return to Part 2 — Voting & Election Issues
Return to Part 3 — Gerrymandering & Courts
Return to Part 4 — Congress
Return to Part 5 — President and DOJ
Return to Part 6 — Campaign Financing
Go to Part 9 — Abortion & Church/State
Go to Part 10 — Guns
Go to Part 11 — Healthcare & VA
Go to Part 12 — Big Pharma
Go to Part 13 — Environment
Go to Part 14 — Energy
Go to Part 15 — Education
Go to Part 16 — Economics
Go to Part 17 — Unions, Safety Net
Go to Part 18 — Homelessness
Go to Part 19 — Trade, Tariffs
Go to Part 20 — Media
Go to Part 21 — War, National Security
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Above is the seventh of numerous submissions wherein I suggest ways our country, our government, and the world can be made better. I am an old fart in my 70’s and have seen much: the turmoil of the 1960’s; Vietnam (where I served as an infantry officer and was awarded a purple heart and other medals); the anti-Vietnam protests (in which I participated while still in uniform); Watergate, the rise of the right wing attack on the poor and powerless during and after the Reagan years; the continued wars in Grenada, Panama, Iraq, Afghanistan and pretty much everywhere else; the Clinton years, the invasion of Iraq in 2002 and the never-ending war since, the brief glow of sunshine during the Obama years, and now Trump. While my dog in this fight is getting long in the tooth, I still deeply care about three things: my country, my country’s honor, and the future we leave to our descendants. My personal history, other than military service, includes college teaching, computer support, hospital IT supervision, consulting, and now — in my retirement — substitute teaching.
I make my recommendations in all seriousness, recognizing that most of them are not immediately attainable. Nevertheless, if we elect people who share our values as our representatives at all levels of government, we can accomplish much.