David Reel: The consequences of America’s broken moral compass
A dictionary definition of a moral compass is a set of beliefs or values that help guide ethical decisions, judgments, and behavior, an internal sense of what is right and wrong.
A dictionary definition of broken is something that is no longer whole or working correctly.
As has been reported regularly and with great public interest since early December, Brian Thompson, the CEO of United American Healthcare Insurance Company was ambushed, shot and killed while attending a business meeting in New York City.
After reading a recent commentary authored by Adam Panucco and posted on Montgomery Perspective on the aftermath of that assassination, I suggest we are experiencing an emerging crisis due to a broken moral compass in American society.
Case in point are recaps in Panucco’s commentary of widespread reactions to the formal accusation of and trial for Luigi Mangione, on his alleged involvement in the assassination of Brian Thompson. Panucco wrote in part:
“Celebrations of the murder broke out on social media almost as soon as the killing was reported. The then unknown assailant had provided a public service by taking out a leader in a predatory and heartless industry, the killer’s fans asserted. The jubilation grew in fervor as each newly released surveillance video confirmed the original impression that the killer, still at large, was young and handsome. Once an arrest was made, the lionization of the suspect, reached a frenzy. Luigi” — always Luigi — “was the ‘hot assassin.’ Merchandise featuring his image and phrases from a handwritten manifesto he had carried with him sprung up on Amazon. A video projection of Mangione’s face was cheered at a rock concert in Boston.
A crowdsourced defense fund quickly swelled with donations. Wanted posters appeared in Manhattan with pictures of other corporate CEOs. The names and salaries of health-care executives were posted online. Private citizens who had helped with the manhunt were vilified as snitches, police officers involved in arresting alleged killer Mangione received threats.”
While these may be relatively isolated incidents, even more distressing are Panucco’s recap of public polling results on this matter.
“Over 41 percent of respondents supported the Thompson assassination, or were at best ambivalent about it. Nearly 16 percent of respondents were “unsure” or “neutral” about whether the killer’s actions were “acceptable or unacceptable.” A little over 8 percent of respondents found Mangione’s actions “completely acceptable.” Another 8.4 percent found those actions “somewhat acceptable,” and nine percent found them “somewhat unacceptable.” It is not clear how “somewhat acceptable” differs from “somewhat unacceptable.”
Four of every ten Americans, in other words, will not unequivocally condemn the killing.
The younger the voter, the greater the level of support for political killings. Sixty-seven percent of voters aged 18 to 29 were ambivalent about or supportive of Mangione’s actions, with only 33 percent finding those actions completely unacceptable. Fifty-seven percent of voters aged 30 to 39 were unwilling to condemn the killing unequivocally, with only 43 percent finding it “completely unacceptable.” Democrats were nearly twice as likely as Republicans to find it either somewhat or completely acceptable.”
In closing remarks in his thought-provoking commentary, Panucco asks:
“What has gone wrong with Americans’ moral compass that so many could cheer the extrajudicial killing of an innocent man? That question has not been deemed worthy of exploring.”
I suggest what is wrong with America’s moral compass is simple.
Our moral compass is broken.
To the best of my knowledge this brokenness has not been deemed worthy of exploring.
It is imperative that we individually and collectively embrace the timeless principles contained in the United States Constitution, especially with regard to due process and the rule of law in America.
While every American has a right to hold and express their opinion, every American has a right and an obligation to point out and challenge misguided and hypocritical opinions that reflect a broken moral compass.
It is indefensible that anyone would support, celebrate, or glorify any accused killer who already has constitutional rights to:
• An assumption of innocence until proven guilty
• A properly processed an indictment, i.e., formal charge or accusation of a serious crime
• Access to legal counsel and representation
• Opportunities during a trial for cross examinations
• Verdicts on guilt or innocence on all charges
• Opportunities to appeal all verdicts
That person does not have any right to act alone as the judge, jury, and executioner, thereby denying a murder victim the same rights, regardless of who he is or his occupation.
In his book, Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville wrote, “America is great because America is good. If America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.”
If America does not take proper immediate steps to address the consequences of a broken moral compass going forward, our society will not only cease to be good and cease to be great, but will also ultimately cease to exist.
David Reel is a public affairs/public relations consultant who serves as a trusted advisor on strategy, advocacy, and media matters. Born and raised in Harrisburg, he was formerly active in the government and political arenas in Harrisburg and Philadelphia. He now lives and works from Easton on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
The United States long ago ceased to be good. We’ve been murdering tens of millions of babies in the womb for decades. The founding document of this nation, The Declaration of Independence, acknowledged that our rights (and our morality) were grounded in objective reality, i.e. we are endowed by Our Creator with certain inalienable rights. These rights and this morality given to us by God cannot be taken or modified by men. Subjective rights and morals have no grounding. They shift with the wind. Pure democracy, i.e. majority rule according to the predominant opinion of the moment is nothing more than mob rule and is the path to ruin.
The Founding Fathers did not state which faith the God they were referring to was part of. Nor did they establish an official religion for America. They did establish the separation of Church and State to avoid the faith based wars and laws that had plagued Europe for over 1000 years.
Other countries that had majority rule often used that as a way to punish people of other faiths, races, and genders. Because we have the right to free speech the minority pf any group can not be punished for having an opposing viewpoint. There was a time, not that long ago when Americans routinely repressed people who were different and considered to be part of the minority using both legal and illegal means. If majority rule was the law of the land the Civil Rights Movement would have never have succeeded.
Boy, right-wing media sure loves getting up on their high horse to lecture us and virtue signal like in this piece. Let’s look at their “moral compass”. The right’s “moral compass” indicates that there’s no problem with the extrajudicial, unprovoked murder of unarmed protesters as long as they’re protesting on the “wrong” side. Just ask Greg Abbott. Their “moral compass” says that it’s totally fine to pardon thugs who violently assaulted police officers in a pathetic, failed attempt to overturn the will of the American people and retain political power. Their “moral compass” says that when a woman has a miscarriage she should be sent to “bleed out” in the parking lot and die in order to avoid potentially violating their draconian “pro-life” laws. Their “moral compass” says child r*pe victims should be forced by the government to carry their attacker’s child even if it puts their life at risk. Their “moral compass” says that school board members with different policy opinions should be doxxed and have their families’ lives threatened. Then we have known child sex trafficker Matt Gaetz eyeing the FL governor’s seat. We have one of Jeffery Epstein’s buddies, a man who had to pay hush money to a porn star he cheated on one of his many wives with, a man failed casino owner and failed business man, a man who belittles journalists with disabilities and attacks gold star families, a sore loser who knowingly lied about election fraud and committed multiple felonies in a pathetic failed attempt to throw out the votes of millions of Americans and ignore the will of the people, a man who talks about his own daughter as a sex object, a man who offers to pay legal fees of supporters who violently assault people at his rallies, set to take the reigns of the government.