Just when public opinion of our elected officials can’t get any lower, another bombshell came to life courtesy of a federal jury convicting U.S. Congressman Chaka Fattah representing Philadelphia.
Some background on Fattah is appropriate here. First elected to Congress in 1994, he served consecutive terms unchallenged prior to losing the Democratic primary in April 2016. Previous to this he served in the Pennsylvania Senate and House of Representatives.
A native of Philadelphia his entire life, what crimes did Fattah commit? He was charged with racketeering and conspiracy charges along with four associates who misused hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign, charity, and taxpayer funds.
According to the Philadelphia Inquiry and I could not have written it better myself, “How did a veteran congressman come to think it was a good idea to appropriate half a million federal dollars to a fake charity devoted to cleaning up after water-skiers? Or take a down payment on a vacation home from a would-be ambassador whose bona fides he pitched to the president himself? Or repay an illegal loan to his campaign with laundered public money?”
As is the normal case with humans who compartmentalize their conduct: one side of the brain says I helped the citizens of Philadelphia better improve their lives and the other side rationalizes and justifies the illegal use of federal funds as no big deal. Fattah refused to step down early from his legislative post until the pressure to resign became too great.
A sidebar to this ugly case is the following: a plethora of unwavering support from his followers and fellow party supporters including the House Minority Leader, Nancy Pelosi.
How many times do we see business people, leaders, and politicians point their fingers to deflect blame? How many times do we see them fail to admit their own wrongdoing and courageously face the consequences? How many times do we see them be accountable and make significant changes that truly represents personal and systemic reformation?
My purpose today is to not turn this into a political discussion; it is entirely about the lack of ethics on display that is fully dysfunctional in all walks of our lives. The damage done has no dollar figure; it is well beyond our comprehension levels.
How do we as a society become more functional, more caring, and interact with respect/consideration/courtesy? Here are a couple of ideas:
1. Ethics needs to be mandatory curriculum starting in grade schools. The teaching needs to be a combination of some textbook and real life situations where kids can start assessing what are the right and wrong choices to make.
2. Parents need to be more involved in our kid’s lives as an ethical force. All too often a child makes a poor choice and we fail to make this a teaching moment. Ethics is ongoing and in play period.
3. We are all responsible and accountable for our conduct. More laws, compliance, regulations, and policies will not correct unethical behavior. It is vital that we all do our fair share and hold people accountable for their wrongdoings.
Please remember this my friends: respect, consideration, and courtesy matter a lot. Treat others fairly, decently, and equally.
Consult your moral compasses every chance you get and monitor your progress.
You know the battle cry: do your best each day. No one can ask more or less from any of us.
All the best/blessings, Mark
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