By: Diane Benjamin
The Code of Ethics Normal passed last night is really cute, but it has no enforcement mechanisms. Therefore it is meaningless.
Four Council members will continue to ignore the citizens who don’t want money thrown away on a $40+ million underpass. Those four will continue to vote for spending whatever it takes to get it built.
Bloomington, the City that couldn’t even fine aldermen for violating City Code with partisan campaigns in supposed nonpartisan elections, will probably pass the same thing.
It will be just as useless as City Code since aldermen have privileges normal people don’t. Ideology will rule instead of broadly representing citizens.
Ethics is a set of moral principles. Unfortunately moral principles everyone formerly agreed on no longer exist.
I miss the good ol days when states and local governments could affirm the true and eternal code of ethics, via Christian religious tests for public office.
When was that?
All of the 13 original states at the time the constitution was in force had Christian religious tests for office.
“Following European custom, all 13 of the original American colonies required an attestation of religious belief or affiliation — a religious oath — as a prerequisite for an individual to hold public office.
In the eight-year period following independence in 1776, 11 of the 13 original states adopted new constitutions. Many of the states ended their religious establishments (official state church denomination), but most continued to require religious oaths for civil officeholders.
Only Connecticut and Rhode Island failed to adopt new constitutions, but the constitutions of each of these two states required officeholders to be Protestants.
The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, written by Thomas Jefferson and enacted in 1786, proscribed religious test oaths”
According to Jefferson, true religious freedom means freedom of the Christians to require that only other Christians (no denominational distinction) to hold public office (judges, elected officials, police).
Basic US history that isn’t taught in schools.
https://firstamendment.mtsu.edu/article/religious-oaths/
1. Never forget who you work for and who pays the bills.
Immaterial to most
That ethics “pledge” is a joke. Council members are sworn into office to defend the Constitution of the USA but mostly don’t.
Voting for a resolution to be ethical is no different than signing NIOT pledge card.