Character Matters

Working as a goldsmith for forty years dealing with co-workers and customers in the jewelry business, trust was essential to these relationships.  My religious family upbringing taught me the importance of good character, which I found critical to developing trust with others. 

Mark Twain, whose work I read extensively, populated his books with characters, large and small, skewering the many flaws common to society.  Twain would have a “hay day” with characters today.  Good character is getting harder to find.  History, schools, churches and other institutions have also tried to teach us about good character through examples.  Why does it seem to be so rare?

There are key aspects of good character to consider, such as honesty, integrity, responsibility, compassion, respect, courage, loyalty, generosity, kindness, humility, patience, and resilience.  Acting consistently on these principles, choosing ethically, being responsible for one’s actions, exercising empathy, having compassion and a positive influence, while striving for self-improvement are good character qualities that contribute to a more positive and ethical world.  This seems to be going out of style.

Many of our leaders are putting loyalty to party and preserving their jobs above doing what is right for our nation, such as preserving our laws, norms, and institutions that serve the people.  They lack the courage to stand up against bad policies, boorish behavior, and power grabs that go against our nation’s founding principles.  The Washington Post has cited plenty of examples of false statements made by our leaders and destructive policies and laws they have implemented.  Trump’s budget bill, that cuts funding to many programs that support the old, the poor and the ill, adds enormous amounts to the deficit, while enriching the wealthy is the latest example.  Many Republican officials are afraid to contradict Trump even though their past positions have clearly been against what he is doing.  They are afraid he will “primary” them out of office in the next elections, as he has threatened and shown he will do.   They have allowed the Executive branch to take over powers belonging to the Legislative branch.  The Republican majority of the Judicial branch is overturning lower court rulings that attempt to check this power grab.  They are more interested in supporting political policies than upholding the Constitution.   If these leaders had good character, they would put what is right above keeping their jobs and furthering their party’s goals.  Without this aspect of good character our Democracy, which is founded on ethical principles, will not prosper.

We complain about poor character in our leaders and need to address the failures in ourselves.  One might say we are only human and no one is perfect.  Though true, we should strive to be of good character and expect it from others, especially our leaders.  People of poor character should not be making decisions for our nation.  Their decisions will not be for the good of our society.  It is not enough to speak of good character; it must be practiced.  If we do not cultivate good character, we will not recognize and value it in others.  By valuing good character, we can make better choices and strive for a more positive and ethical nation.  We need to elect leaders who put our nation and its Constitution above party and self-interest.  People of good character founded our country, and yes, good character matters.