• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Skip to footer navigation

  • Calendar of events
  • 687 Larch Av, Teaneck NJ
  • 201-836-5187
  • Contact Us
  • DONATE
Ethical Culture Society of Bergen County NJ

Ethical Culture Society of Bergen County NJ

  • Home
  • About
    • Platform
    • FAQ
      • How does Ethical Culture make a difference in society?
      • What social life is there in Ethical Culture?
      • How is Ethical Culture religious?
    • Ethical Brew
    • Ceremonies
    • Philosophy
    • Constitution & Bylaws
    • Contact Us
  • Ethical Kids
    • Sunday School
      • Primary Class
      • Elementary Class
      • Junior Class
      • Senior Class
      • Sunday school FAQ
    • Youth Group
  • Leader
    • Leader Curt Collier
    • Leader’s Talks
    • Joe Chuman, Retired Leader
      • Talks by Dr Joseph Chuman
      • Speaking of Ethics: Living a Humanist Life
      • Wedding Officiant
  • Social Action
    • All Social Action Articles
    • Battling Racism
    • Environmental Action
    • Healthcare
  • Adult Ed
    • Job Club
    • Socrates Cafe
    • Ethical Culture Review of Books
  • News
    • President Column
    • UN Report
    • Platform Addresses
  • Events

An Ethical Blueprint for America

October 23, 2020

By Dr. Joseph Chuman

It’s about visions. What kind of America do we want to have? The noted presidential historian Jon Meacham recently asked, “Do we want the America of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln or the America of Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis? Do we want the America of John Lewis or Bull Connor?”  The America we envision suggests a constellation of values that we affirm or reject.

With the election upon us, politics feels all-consuming. We think foremost of policies and platforms, laws and regulations, economic programs, and winners and losers. But behind it all our society rests on visions and values. 

While we seldom think about it, it is the moral values we hold that at the deepest levels bind our society together. Laws and markets cannot do this; the moral values and dispositions that reside in the hearts and minds of women and men, though unseen, are what do this. 

If things eventuate as they must on Election Day, then I submit that America must begin the task of moral reconstruction, of rebuilding society guided by ethical ideals that speak to renewal.

Resentment and hate come far too easily today

American society has become fretfully characterized by division, torn asunder most stridently along the differences of competing political positions and ideologies. But also along the lines of ethnicity, race, and nationality. Resentment and hate come far too easily today. Whereas a fellow American who differed would be considered an opponent or an adversary, too often today he or she is construed as an enemy whose views or humanity are unworthy of respect or even a hearing. Needless to say, this ugly state of affairs has been exponentially and deliberately exacerbated by the occupant of the White House, but in my view, its roots extend far deeper.

Moral renewal will require a shift in how Americans see themselves and others within the context of society. It has long been my view that our society has suffered from a surplus of what I would term “hyper-individualism.” People’s response to the pandemic is reflective of these differing values. Those who abide by the common-sense strictures of masking and personal distancing, I believe, are expressing a responsible communitarian ethic, recognizing their commitment to the health of others and society as a whole. By contrast, those who refuse in the name of “freedom” are manifesting a libertarian individualism that in my view is morally reprobate and inexcusable. A further consequence of this excessive individualism is that our social fabric is becoming increasingly frayed and an epidemic of loneliness pervades American life.

By contrast, what we need is an ethics and social vision that is guided by a commitment to the “common good.” Another way to state this is that we need to move from personal values primarily focused on “I” to values directed toward “we,” and then strive to live our lives in accordance with those values.

Freedom cannot flourish without responsibility

I need to be clear. Our fundamental rights, freedoms, and liberties reside in us as individuals, and we must ever be vigilant to safeguard these rights. We must forever preserve the right to dissent when society perpetrates injustice and be prepared to stand alone. My point is that there cannot be freedom and people cannot flourish without a concomitant sense of responsibility to others and toward society as a whole. It is this sense of obligation, which is a basic cornerstone of ethics, that I fear has atrophied for too long. This impoverishment is manifested in the extraordinary wealth gap that plagues our society, dividing the super-rich from the rest of us. It is evident in the growing phenomenon of privatization, which, again, segregates those who can buy their way out of the conditions the rest of us inhabit. And it is manifest in the materialism and acquisition that have long been promoted as comprising the aims and substance of a good life.  

But the good life, in my view, is a life that is lived with and for others, and is committed to the realization of non-market values—love, friendship, compassion, and service to dedications that extend beyond the self. My understanding of the person is that we are social creatures and we grow into ourselves and develop our characters through active engagement with others. It is through committing ourselves to the welfare of others and society that we realize our full humanity. 

It is such values that serve as the basis of democracy, and it is a recommitment to democracy and the democratic spirit that needs to inspire an American renewal. 

Individual and common welfare are interwoven

Such is a transformation that needs to take place on all levels from the highest echelons of government to the level of neighborhoods and community organizations. We need robust federal programs that will ensure that all Americans can live a life of dignity: universal health care, family support, paid sick leave, affordable college and job training, support for unions, job stimulation, environmental protection, and much, much  more. We need to build a renewed  trust in government and put an end to the insidious notion that government is our enemy. In a democracy, government, after all, is us and not the imposition of a malign oppressor. We need trust in government that is responsive to the needs of people and by so doing reinforces the notion that we are are all members of the same society, that we are all in this together. We need to sense that my welfare and destiny is interwoven with the welfare of all those who comprise a common society. 

Perhaps most important is active engagement at the level of civil society, that space between government and family life. Here a devotion to others, to “we” above “I,” is most intimately experienced.  We must find ways to rebuild local institutions, become involved in civic associations and those groups in which we can both give and receive the support of others.

In this regard I see our Ethical Society as an admirable model of this type of democracy in action. We recognize the importance of human relations, and while we respect the uniqueness and rights of each of us as individuals, no less we recognize our responsibility to one another, perhaps in these difficult times like none other.

As small as we are, I think that Ethical Culture has something very important to offer our wider society as we embark on the project of national renewal, as I sense we will. 

I have entitled my talk for Nov. 1 “An Ethical Blueprint for America.” I look forward to being with you then.

Dr. Joseph Chuman is leader of the Ethical Culture Society of Bergen County.

Primary Sidebar

Recent News

  • Church-State Separation: Who Stands to Lose if the Wall Fails?
  • Two Grants Help Fund ‘Great NJ Science Show’
  • Meet Our Newest Members, Andy and Deborah Krikun
  • Struggle over Church-State Separation has Deep Roots in America
  • I’m Not a Hater, So Why Do I Hate?

Sign up for our newsletter.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Vimeo
  • YouTube

We believe in ethics. We believe in people.

Please believe in us.

Ethical Brew

Being White And Its Hidden Assumptions

‘How Race Impacts Conservation’

About Us

Ethical Culture was founded to focus on community and good works, rather than personal salvation. Read more…

Archives

Footer

Connect with Us

Address: 687 Larch Ave, Teaneck, NJ 07666
Phone: 201-836-5187
Email: [email protected]

Sign up for our newsletter.

 

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Vimeo
  • YouTube

Recent Posts

  • Church-State Separation: Who Stands to Lose if the Wall Fails? January 30, 2023
  • Two Grants Help Fund ‘Great NJ Science Show’ January 29, 2023
  • Meet Our Newest Members, Andy and Deborah Krikun January 29, 2023
  • Struggle over Church-State Separation has Deep Roots in America January 28, 2023
  • I’m Not a Hater, So Why Do I Hate? January 26, 2023

We believe in ethics. We believe in people.

Please believe in us.

Topics

atheism atheist church book review children church-state separation civil rights climate change community compassion death democracy Doris Friedensohn Elizabeth Warren environment Ethical Brew Ethical Culture ethical education ethics family Felix Adler gender global warming happiness healthcare humanism humanist humanists human rights Israel Joseph Chuman meetinghouse Middle East politics racism religion Robert Gulack Secular Humanism social action Socrates Cafe Sunday School technology Trump unemployment world health youth

What We Do For Fun….

There's always time for play: celebrations, discussions (some in Spanish -- find Conversemos on our calendar on the fourth Tuesday of the month), hikes, picnics, cultural outings, and more. Come join us!
Kids get into the act
Diane running the show

Important Links

  • Member of the American Ethical Union
  • Ethical Brew
  • Sanctuary Committee
  • BC Gun Violence Prevention
  • NJ Website Designer
© 2021 | The Ethical Culture Society of Bergen County NJ

Copyright © 2023 · Kreativ Pro On Genesis Framework · The Ethical Culture Society of Bergen County · Log in

  • Calendar of events
  • 687 Larch Av, Teaneck NJ
  • 201-836-5187
  • Contact Us
  • DONATE