When society rejects ethics legislation

I must confess that when we went to the polls a couple of weeks ago now, I cast “yes” votes on both ballot propositions. No surprise, I know, regarding Prop 2 since I have already written about it, but I also voted in favor of Prop 1 because it was about ethics — what is right and what is wrong where public money is concerned.

Though it was soundly defeated with a 60-percent thumping, it took me very little time to reach my conclusions. The very first thing I did was listen. Like the wetting of the finger and raising it to the sky to determine the prevailing wind direction, I listened. And what I heard were the voices of those who were against it. Quite literally, I heard no one in favor of it because when I did turn on talk radio, the interview had just concluded. But nonetheless I did hear over and over again the voices of those who were against it, and their cry was that this would take away their freedom of speech. As these ads also had to list their sponsors, I need not tell you from which end of the political spectrum they hailed. But hearing their cry and knowing their direction, I thought, “This is a liberal wind a blowing.”

The second thing I did was read. You know all those “they’re after my free speech rights” ads, I didn’t have to read far to know that they weren’t being absolutely truthful (the Bible calls it bearing false witness, a crime of moral turpitude in Alaska). When I went to the ballot box and read the description, one sentence told the whole story; surely you remember the one about legislators or their staff not being able to be employed by government contract holders for two years after leaving state service? If you voted “no” because you thought it was about someone’s freedom of speech, the truth is that you just didn’t read. This was ethics legislation, plain and simple, and its rejection says a lot about our society.

The first thing it says about Alaska is that a whole lot of Alaskans have a problem with the love of money. I have written about this before. I Timothy 6:10 says, “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”

What Paul is telling Timothy here is that those who get to the point of loving money, it actually becomes an addiction to them. Like a drug addict, every time they get some into their system its thrill quickly dissipates leaving them hungry for more. No amount will ever totally satisfy them. And if it cannot be obtained by legitimate means, they will seek it illicitly. First it will be the rules of ethics they will break, but in the end and if all else fails, the permanent removal of those who stand in their way will be justified in their eyes.

While every society has its elements afflicted with this cancer, what makes it particularly odious on a political level is that it is the theft of public money. It is self-enrichment, whether by the individual or organization, by means of public funds. It doesn’t matter if they are property taxes or oil taxes, public service is supposed to be a sacred trust, not a free shot at the pot of gold.

But the rejection of this legislation also says that Alaskans have a vision problem.

The truth is that we shouldn’t even need ethics laws. I Thessalonians 5:22 says, “Abstain from all appearance of evil.” If it looks bad, those connected with government should be the very first ones to throw up their hands and say, “I can’t be a part of this.” The fact that this made it on the ballot is evidence that far too many government officials and contractors cannot even tell if something looks bad.

I know there are those who talk about attracting the best talent, but thus far it seems that poor character is attached to it.

But herein is the rub: While many voters conclude that there are certain vices associated with politics and those engaged therein, it need not be. All it takes is for the people to stand up and make them toe the line. But before the people will do this, they themselves must be people of moral integrity.

Ron Hamman is pastor of Independent Baptist Church of Wasilla. Contact him at 357-4229 or ron.hamman@gci.net.