OPINION

Opinion Unless otherwise stated, the views and opinions expressed are those of the respective authors and do not necessarily represent the views of The Signal.

READER LETTERS

‘Trust Us’

ETHICALLY SPEAKING

Evidences: Ethical Character

When I read the names of Thomas Oatway and Lois Eisneberg signed to Signal letters, it has the same effect on me as watching Jen “Circle Back” Psaki and Karine “I Don’t Lie” Jean-Pierre give press briefings. In other words, like nails on a chalkboard. I’m sure I speak for the vast majority of Signal readers when I say, “OK, you two. We get it. You hate President Trump. Say it once and be done with it.” And while I’m at it, I would like to correct you. Both of you use the term “election denier” as a feeble way of condemning anyone who questions the veracity of an election. There is no such thing as an “election denier.” Nobody denies that an election occurred. Some people just question election results and want to find out if anything illegal or unethical influenced said results. You two would call these people Fox News-watching anarchists and insurrectionists. I would call them intelligent people who like to think for themselves.

After you remove your blood pressure monitors, consider this: Our government asks us to blindly believe everything they tell us. Their mantra is, “Trust us.” Inflation is just transitory. Trust us. President Trump colluded with the Russians. Trust us. The FBI didn’t tell social media that Hunter’s laptop was Russian disinformation. Trust us. Our exit from Afghanistan was honorable. Trust us. High gas prices are caused by Putin’s war. Trust us. The 570 riots during the summer of 2020 were peaceful protests. Trust us. Our southern border is not open. Trust us. Every congressman read all 4,100 pages of the omnibus bill before voting on it. Trust us. The Jan. 6 committee wasn’t a partisan kangaroo court. Trust us. The New York Times and CNN are balanced and objective in their reporting. Trust us. America does not have a crime problem. Trust us. The 87,000 new IRS agents will not be used to harass Republican voters or red states. Trust us.

You will have to pardon me if I don’t jump on the Government Trust Wagon. There is not room for three of us.

Larry Moore Valencia

Exposing Fascist Corruption

The left pretends it is anti-fascist by styling itself “Antifa,” but as Mussolini said, fascism is a merger of state and corporate power. And that is precisely what the left has been up to in American elections and governance with Big Tech. Twittergate was a digital insurrection far more consequential than Jan. 6; in fact, the former likely caused the latter. The left pretended they had to “save democracy” from Donald Trump but they interfered in an election and violated the free speech of others. And they can’t say “private company” because the government was literally telling them what and who to suppress.

This isn’t conjecture. It’s documented fact, and all because a billionaire vehicle maker had the means and motivation to buy one of their media vehicles and expose the fascist corruption. Rob Kerchner Valencia

Submit a Letter to the Editor

Include name, address & phone; Anonymous letters aren’t printed; email: letters@signalscv.com. I often find myself asking the question “how do we recognize a person’s character and virtue?” What do we look at, look for, or measure to quantify someone’s ethical make-up? For me, one of the first texts is “does this person say what they mean, mean what they say, and act accordingly?”

But lately, I’ve taken to asking a second question. “Does this person readily admit his or her mistakes and take the necessary and proper steps to correct them?”

Many years ago I was part of a sales organization. I started off as a salesman with a local territory and after 3 years was made a regional sales manager. Dealing with the home office, the shipping department, my sales force, and our customers was like attending a post-graduate course in understanding people and their ways of handling mistakes. I learned that mistakes happen, and they happen frequently. Sometimes the consequences are minimal but often they create a big mess.

When a person makes the same mistake with regularity it usually means they are untrained, unmotivated, or unable. This becomes a personnel problem, and in some cases where training doesn’t solve the problem, it is often best solved through termination. But this may not tell us much about the person’s character. Good people with strong values may be unable to complete certain tasks.

Where we get a glimpse into character is watching the way a person admits the mistake, taking full responsibility, and then works to clean up the mess. I have found that when good people make mistakes, they own up to them, and get to work fixing them as best they can, even if it hurts. This takes character, and integrity, and a greater desire to be good than simply to look good.

In our society the virtue of honesty in this regard is becoming more and more rare simply because the cost of being honest has risen dramatically. Today, admitting you made a mistake, or a bad decision, or acted in haste, immediately becomes ammunition for your opponents. They will seize upon the situation like an eagle on a salmon, gripping it so tightly they seem both unwilling and unable to let go. Sadly, this high cost of honesty has pushed many to develop ways of spinning the facts - even when their mistakes are obvious - in order to deflect any blame. A fascinating book on this is aptly titled “Mistakes Were Made But Not By Me.” It chronicles the steady push of our culture to defend, deny, or obfuscate the facts to the place where there is always some measure of plausible deniability. We see things go wrong everyday while at the same time we are told no one is responsible.

This being true, when someone stands up and admits an error, a mistake, or a poor decision, and is willing to work to clean up the mess or correct the situation, what we have is strong evidence of true character. Not only must we demand leaders who say what they mean and mean what they say, but we must also demand that they be honest about their missteps and work to alleviate any negative consequences. And until we become a nation of perfect individuals, we must continue to applaud those with a strong internal commitment to integrity and honesty rather than shoot them down with their own bullets. Honesty will only blossom where forgiveness is available.

We need leaders – parents, teachers, managers, pastors, civic leaders, politicians, etc – who are not afraid to tell us what they really believe, and are committed to acting in accordance with those beliefs. And when their actions turn out to cause a mess we need them to stand up and tell us so, admitting their error, and at the same time working hard to fix the problems they have caused. For our part, we need to be willing to admit our own foibles, and offer understanding and forgiveness to those whose sincerity, honesty, and ability to learn from their mistakes deserve it.

Local resident David Hegg is senior pastor of Grace Baptist Church. “Ethically

Speaking” appears Sundays. 