Losing Our Moral Compass

I keep thinking that each day that I turn on the news or look at my Twitter feed that today we, as Americans, have reached a new "low" under the leadership of Donald Trump, but the next day comes and I am proven wrong. It used to be that "right" and "wrong" were clear cut choices on issues of morality, but now it seems that the conservative right wants to politicize every issue past and present. Here are my thoughts on the "hot moral topics" of today.

Racism, Confederate Statues & the Civil War

Despite recent comments by Chief of Staff John Kelly, the underlying reason for the Civil War was slavery and nothing has changed since the war ended in 1865. Judging people on their skin color, background, religion, or sexual orientation is wrong. People should be judged for the type of person they are and how they treat other people. 

The Confederacy broke away from the United States in 1861 because they wanted to keep the institution of slavery and expand it into new territories. They were rebels and Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee and all Confederate Generals were traitors and led a revolt against this Nation. Having statues erected in their honor is ludicrous. Should we erect statues of General Cornwallis and King George III?  There is a reason that Germany does not erect statues of Hitler, Goering, and Himmler.

Gun Control and the 2nd Amendment

The debate over the second amendment has gotten to the point where our lawmakers are not making choices based on what is best for the citizens of this great country but based on the money they are receiving from the NRA. People should have the right to carry a hand gun in order to protect their home as long as they pass all of the appropriate background checks. However the slaughtering of people at the concert in Las Vegas and the church in Texas needs to stop.

I don't care what pro-gun loving, NRA supporters rationale are but no one needs to be carrying AKA firearms and/or bump stocks. You need an AKA rifle if you are serving in our armed forces or part of the SWAT team, not to protect your home and family. A hand gun will do just fine. There needs to be stronger vetting on people who want to purchase a weapon and if you are on the "No Fly" list, then that person should not be able to purchase a gun. If we can implement stronger vetting policies for immigrants than we can do it for gun control. The blood of each person that is killed in these mass shootings is on the hands of the lawmakers that are financially backed by the NRA.

Roy Moore, AL Franken, & Sexual Harrassment

Sean Hannity, Donald Trump, Steve Bannon and the Evangelical Right should be ashamed of themselves for not strongly condemning the actions of Roy Moore and even worse politicizing it. As Nicole Wallace stated several times on MSNBC, Roy Moore's accusers have absolutely nothing to gain by telling their story. If anything they lose because they have to relive their personal nightmare again. Sean Hannity has enough influence with his listeners in Alabama where he could come out and denounce Roy Moore's actions. There is politics and there is what is morally right and Hannity and Trump once again picked the wrong side.

The actions of Senator Franken, Louie C.K., and Harvey Weinstien are disgusting. At least Senator Franken apologized for his actions and is welcoming an ethics investigation into his conduct. The fact that Donald Trump took advantage of the Franken situation but remains silent on Roy Moore's actions shows the world that our leader stands on the wrong side of moral issues. The world probably already knew where Trump stands after all, he made his thoughts perfectly clear on the Access Hollywood bus.