North America Faces a Moral Problem

Today's North America faces a moral problem since polarization in society is arising from contending political leaders accused of all sorts of crimes; from burglary to bribery to prostitution to felonies. The tension has arisen to the point of violence.

We need to remember bullets are not productive, yet destructive. Imposing views by means of the use of force is a dangerous shortcut to achieving the ultimate goals of happiness and well-being for society. Law gives specific attributes -to those who rule- in order for them to execute the tasks of the State.

We must be keenly aware that destroying evil is embedded in human nature, not only for survival reasons (wild beasts, poisonous insects or plants, etc.) but for the continuation of our lineages; assuring the most vulnerable and innocent reach their culprit.

In those circumstances, the moral sins of our society, like robbery, corruption, rape, assassination, or false claims against our neighbor or our own self are all repulsive to others. 

However, pernicious ideas have filtered among us. An ever more competitive and demanding society has created an artificial scarcity of love and well-being for ourselves, introducing the erroneous beliefs that "the end justifies the means" followed by "the winner takes it all", giving disproportionate wins to those who arrive first or achieve some goal first. 

But above all pernicious beliefs, the idea that the winners, the triumphants, or the excellers need some sort of impunity is the worst of all. It settles in society a halo of superiority on those at the top that everybody needs to acknowledge as true. But it is not true.

We are all human. Our physical capabilities and limitations are coped by nature, even if our possibilities are infinite. Believing that once at the top we will be invulnerable -no matter what means we use to achieve that goal- has set the pace for most of the atrocities humankind has witnessed.

Making mistakes is human. Doing bad premeditated also is. But while recognizing we should not be punished for our mistakes, we must also acknowledge evil must not be impune. We all want the most difficult and relevant decisions to be taken by those with the minor chance to err in making those decisions, but we also want those who cause the worst suffering to us on purpose to receive the biggest punishments.

Particularly, in the public sector, if I care more about my wealth and the wealth of my beloved than the wealth of those I'm supposed to help, I do not possess the necessary inclination to service required for my duties. The private sector should be a much better option to maximize my revenue if so I want. It is not a masochist virtue, nor I'm saying public servants should be poor. I'm acknowledging the potential for making the lives better of those public servants rule is far bigger in the public than in the private sector. Inclinations towards egoism from a public servant is a bad signal regarding the quality of the decisions that will ultimately impact us all. Making the revenues of public servants transparent to society is a vital step in achieving a better public service, and public servants will benefit much more from a good reputation than from a hidden wallet.

We must stop impunity. We must stop idealizing human beings. We must stop looking at the ends and not the means. We must stop thinking egocentrically when we recognize we live in a global and interconnected world. Good human beings are more necessary than ever, and that's an integral task, not just measured by the fact someone achieved this goal or the other. We all want money, and we all love luxuries and recognition. But let's make sure they are all given for good reasons. We need to make sure the most important decisions regarding our happiness and our well-being are taken by those with the smallest probability to err. To make that possible, we need to stop impunity.