A comment on the Facebook In Search of Goodness page has prompted me to consider whether or not Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is a moral man. I’m swamped today with other work, so I’m interested in your take on these two questions. The answers are not only of interest to my little quest, but they may hold the key to unpacking the struggle between left and right.
So, here are my questions:
(1) Do you think Gov. Scott Walker believes that he is a good and moral person? Why?
(2) Do you personally believe that Gov. Scott Walker is a good and moral person? Why?
I would love it if your answer to the “why” part of the questions could be in more detail than “he’s busting the unions.” Why or why not is that a moral action to take?
Many thanks for your comments!
In Search of Goodness 
Walker may believe he is a good person — most people do. In fact, the only thing that ever annoyed me in Buffy the Vampire Slayer was the idea that the vampires loved being evil. However, I suspect he is the kind of person who believes good people have to do terrible things for the greater good, an idea that was explored in detail in the TV show 24 and which has great currency in our society. And I also suspect he has a pragmatist streak in which he thinks doing whatever it takes to get something done is OK, especially in politics, regardless of whether he is moral.
I don’t believe Walker is a good or moral person, because I don’t believe he’s acting in the best interest of the citizens of Wisconsin, but rather is promoting the interests of himself, his financial donors, and his extreme wing of the Republican Party. And I think he’s willing to harm the state of Wisconsin, not to mention the people who work for state and local government, in the interest of those other entities.
Does he think he is moral, it is much more than that, he thinks he is on a crusade and has often quoted that God told him to run for Governor and tells him what decisions to make.
That very statement, however, makes him immoral as a political leader of a state where one has the moral obligation to reconcile one´s actions with the will of the people In this case, he is clearly listening to what he thinks God is telling him and by passing those he has agreed to serve.
There is NOTHING wrong with a man choosing to live his life as he believes his God wants, however, if you are going to take the oath of public service, then you have to serve the public and if there are times those 2 are at odds and you can not reconcile them, it is dishonest to listen to God over those you chose to serve.
He is accepting money (salary) to serve the people of his state, if he has decided that to serve his higher power is more important, the moral thing to do is to quite taking the money for the job and resign.
I have had time when I had moral conflict between my job and my beliefs and I either chose to compromise my values or to resign my job. I never chose to follow my values and dismiss my responsibilities but continue to accept my paycheck.
Apologies for taking so long to reply. What a week! But I digress. These are two great comments. Personally, I believe in letting your intuition or, for want of a better word, “God” guide you. I’m not certain, Kevin, that Walker’s wrong to do that, although if he really does think he’s on a crusade for God that’s frightening in other megolamanical ways. I think we all have to follow our conscience, whether we think that little voice in our head is coming from God or from us.
Nancy, you raise an amazingly good point about people who think they have to do terrible things for the greater good. I think that’s a topic for a post. More later.
Pingback: Catch Up With The Conversation | In Search of Goodness