The one and only debate between vice presidential candidates Tim Kaine and Mike Pence was held on October 4, 2016. At that time I knew nothing about Mike Pence. During the debate. Pence claimed that, while the Trump Foundation gave “every cent” it raised to charitable causes, less than 10 cents of every dollar raised by the Clinton Foundation went to help people.
I knew nothing about the Trump Foundation but I did know a little about the Clinton Foundation. I knew it had raised hundreds of millions of dollars for treatment of patients with malaria in Africa and patients with AIDS in Asia, saving millions of lives.
According to Charity Navigator, 88 cents of every Clinton Foundation dollar has gone to people in need. The Clinton Foundation has now raised over $2 billion, while the Trump Foundation was recently dissolved after it was found to have fraudulently funded President Trump’s business and political interests.
Pence’s lie was disheartening, but the lack of any outcry the next day was downright painful. It was as if honesty was dead in this country.
Warren Susman is a cultural anthropologist who claimed that in the 1800s ours was a culture of character. In the early 1900s we transitioned to a culture of personality. In doing so, self-sacrifice was replaced by self-expression; the work ethic by leisure; integrity by charm. While good deeds, reputation and moral integrity had been prized before, magnetism, attractiveness and forcefulness became more important.
Why the change? As our population moved from the country to the city, we became more mobile. We moved and changed jobs more frequently and became less likely to know people over time. While you can appraise someone’s personality in minutes, it may take years to accurately judge their character. We tend to assume a strong personality portends a strong character and we have an inherent need to trust. As expediency and materialism became priorities, good character could be a handicap. Last, likely because of television and the media, being entertained in everything, even in our politics, became an expectation.
The biggest casualty of these changes was honesty. Why is honesty so important? Harvard Professor James Wilson stated that public interests depended upon private virtue. Though true and important, there is a far more important reason. Honesty allows for truth to be used to advance all human endeavors. Whether you are scientist, a philosopher or an economist, your goal is to find truths that can enhance the human experience.
In searching for truth, disseminating truth, and applying truth, honesty is essential. Honesty is the midwife and caretaker of truth.
Let me cite an example. In 1998 British researcher Andrew Wakefield published data showing that the MMR vaccine caused autism. Subsequently, vaccinations rates fell and the anti-vaccine movement began. This resulted in the death of many unprotected children. It was later determined that Wakefield’s data was fraudulent and he was working with attorneys suing vaccine makers.
There are other reasons for honesty. One is is our great need to trust. When we are lied to we lose trust, not only in the liar, but in life in general. In addition, honesty can make our lives simpler. When individuals commit to honesty, they choose behaviors and actions that they are willing to own. That choice forces us to be honest with ourselves as well as others.
How do we reverse this trend away from honesty? First, we need to recognize the problem and its many consequences. Second, the importance of ethics and honesty need to be taught in our schools. That instruction could include the 2008 recession that resulted from a culture of dishonesty and greed in our financial sector. Last, we need to aways expose dishonesty.
Nowhere has dishonesty been more consequential than in President Trump’s response to the pandemic. When he lied about it being a hoax; when he said that it was under control when it was not; when he claimed testing was available to everyone, he impeded a timely response.
The cost of this dishonesty was tens of thousands of lives and millions of jobs. Honesty is important.
Douglas Douville, M.D.
Douglas Douville, M.D., is a family physician currently working at a charity clinic. He was an Air Force physician for 20 years and was in private practice in West Valley City for 15 years.
