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Where Are The Voices Of Moral Accountability In Government?

Where Are The Voices Of Moral Accountability In Government?

Last updated on: June 22, 2026 at 1:12 am by Henry Karlson

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Where Are The Voices Of Moral Accountability In Government? 2026-06-22T01:12:20-05:00 Henry Karlson

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The United States Government under Trump promotes profit over people, and makes deals with those who will help Trump make profits for himself. Photo: Argentina.gob.ar: Trump, Musk and Milei /Wikimedia Commons

I find it very sad that too many people only desire and work for short-term profits , thinking it is all we should pursue, and use that objective as the final and proper good by which they justify their actions, even if what they do harms others or the world they live in. It is pure foolishness. Even if they don’t care about the future of the earth, because the only thing they care about is profit, they should realize that what they do will cause profits to decline in the long term, showing why, if profit is all they are interested in, their actions will ultimately undermine their own goals. Only those who do not have any long-term vision, only those who cannot see past the present moment, could ever believe the profits they see today will continue in the future. They are selfish, and their selfishness makes them short-sighted. They might be willing to sacrifice little today if they see they will soon make a profit, but they are unwilling to look to the long-term and the effects of their actions, not only on themselves, but on others. Their selfishness makes them care less about the harm their actions produces so long as they get what they want, which is profit. Such selfishness is a major problem today; too many, it seems to me, have been conditioned to be like this, that they were raised to believe success in the world depends upon how much money they make, and if they prove to be successful, that means their actions are morally acceptable. This is why they have they have no problem with the government acting in a similar manner, indeed, it is why they think it should because they believe government should act like a business with one concern, profits, as profit is what proves success, so it is what proves a governmental administration to be successful. Pope Francis understood that this line of thought, and saw how problematic it is. He saw how people, accepting this, were willing to become a “silent witnesses” to morally questionable actions, such as those which harm the world around us, as long as they believe they will benefit from it:

Caring for ecosystems demands far-sightedness, since no one looking for quick and easy profit is truly interested in their preservation. But the cost of the damage caused by such selfish lack of concern is much greater than the economic benefits to be obtained. Where certain species are destroyed or seriously harmed, the values involved are incalculable. We can be silent witnesses to terrible injustices if we think that we can obtain significant benefits by making the rest of humanity, present and future, pay the extremely high costs of environmental deterioration.[1]

This is exactly what happening while the Trump administration is charge of the United States. Trump isn’t concerned about the future, after all, he knows he doesn’t have one. And so, he is interested in the present moment, in the profits he can make today. He believes by acquiring more wealth, he becomes a greater person, someone others should glorify. While he is bad, those who know the harm he is causing and yet support him in all that he does are worse; those who know more have more responsibility for what they do than those who do not have such insight, especially if they have some power (as his advisors and political allies do) to rectify the situation (such as trying to find a way to change his mind, or if not that, simply to tell him no).

Every week it seems I hear of new examples of the kinds of harm the Trump administration is willing to do. This week, I was surprised to hear there was some push back, that even Trump’s allies and friends told him no. He was wanting to dismantle hundreds of millions of dollars of ocean observatory equipment which was being used to monitor and collect important oceanic data, especially data which relates to climate change and its impact on oceanic ecosystems. Congress, much to my surprise, said it was reckless and illegal, and they would fight Trump, knowing the harm this would cause to coastal communities. As a result, for now, the Trump administration has now stopped putting his plan into motion, and the equipment he wanted to remove will remain in place and used. This is a rare but important victory against Trump’s regime; sadly, for every time there is push-back against him, there are many other instances of people accepting what he wants to do. We can see this in his dealings with the fishing industry and how he wants to remove protections at several of America’s marine national monuments; he says this is because it will lower the cost of seafood, which, for the short time, might be true, but in the long-term, the harm of commercial fishing will destroy the ecosystem, which will, among other things, will make the fish scarce, if not destroy whole populations of them, leading to the long-term costs as being much higher. We see a similar shortsightedness from him by the way he has opened up hunting on federal parks and wildlife refuges; while the claim is that this will be a small change in what is done, at least for now, it indicates is a significant change in perspective. The government is no longer interested in proper wildlife protection and management, preserving ecosystems. Finally, this shortsighted desire for profit, is seen in the Trump administration’s defense of Musk in court, supporting him and his AI data centers from those who say they are being built without proper permits and without proper environmental protections.

Trump consistently shows us his lack of concern for the environment, and with it, his lack of concern for the future of the world. He is not interested in the common good, but profit. I can understand, in a way, how he could be so shortsighted and not care about others. He likes to glorify himself, and he thinks, the richer he becomes, the more power he has over others, including the power to harm them, the greater he is. What I don’t understand is why so many support him and his actions, especially those who know better, among which are Christians because God told them to be good stewards, and not abusers, of the earth. Where are the Christians who say morality is important? Where are they who say we should follow God, not some human authority, when such human authority would have us act against God’s will? Where are they? Pope Francis, while he was alive, was one such voice speaking out, warning us of the consequences of our disgraceful actions while telling us the way we should be instead:

When nature is viewed solely as a source of profit and gain, this has serious consequences for society. This vision of “might is right” has engendered immense inequality, injustice and acts of violence against the majority of humanity, since resources end up in the hands of the first comer or the most powerful: the winner takes all. Completely at odds with this model are the ideals of harmony, justice, fraternity and peace as proposed by Jesus. As he said of the powers of his own age: “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you must be your servant” (Mt 20:25-26).[2]

Again, where are the supposed Christians in the Trump administration, in Congress, and in the Supreme Court? So many have put on a show about being Christian. Why don’t they show it by their actions? It seems to me that far too many put on a public show of faith, declaring it in words, but behind their declarations, they lack true faith because such faith would be seen in what they do. Christians should promote God’s will, which means, they should do what they can to promote the common good; instead, too many of them promote private profit over the good of the people. Where are all the Christian voices, where are all the Christians demanding proper moral accountability when the common good, and with it, the good of the poor, the weak, the vulnerable, are neglected? God warned us that those who destroy the earth, especially out of greed, risk their own destruction. Why do Christians ignore that and put more stock secondary concerns found in the so-called culture wars? I know, there are people, like myself, who are speaking out, but it seems our voices are being silenced by those who use the faith as a tool for their own personal gain. Where are the voices of true moral credibility in the Trump administration? Why do they all seem to be yes-men, no matter how absurd Trump’s claims are?

[1] Pope Francis, Laudato si’. Vatican translation. ¶36.

[2] Pope Francis, Laudato si’,. ¶82.

* This Is Another Post From My Personal (Informal) Reflections And Speculations Series

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N.B.: While I read comments to moderate them, I rarely respond to them. If I don’t respond to your comment directly, don’t assume I am unthankful for it. I appreciate it. But I want readers to feel free to ask questions, and hopefully, dialogue with each other. I have shared what I wanted to say, though some responses will get a brief reply by me, or, if I find it interesting and something I can engage fully, as the foundation for another post. I have had many posts inspired or improved upon thanks to my readers.

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