I was never a good golfer, but for many years I was an avid golfer. My golfing buddies and I always strived to live up to the standards of the game as described by David Hegg in his Dec. 7 column, “Is It Wrong if No One’s Looking?”
If Pastor Hegg is a golfer, I have no doubt that these standards are a part of his game as well. It is the honorable thing to do.
In his column he says, “I’m pointing out the severe erosion of political and professional ethics in our society, especially at the highest levels. Simply put, wrong is wrong, lies are lies, demeaning language and name calling are unacceptable, and opposing views are not a sufficient reason for a lack of personal and ethical behavior.”
This immediately brings to mind the best-known non-professional golfer in the world, President Donald J. Trump. His antics on the golf course have long been reported. Suffice it to say, he would not have been welcome in our foursome.
His obsession with golf was well known during his 2015-16 run for the presidency, but he shrugged it off, assuring us that he would be too busy Making America Great Again to spend any time on the golf course.
I don’t know the exact count, but my guess is that with less than five years in office he has played more rounds of golf than Joe Biden, Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton combined. In addition, he has turned his golfing into a minor revenue stream, since he plays at golf courses he owns. And I say “minor” because it pales in comparison to the billions he and his family are raking in from their various enterprises.
We’ve all heard the term “trickle-down economics” which is a dubious scheme whereby tax breaks to big corporations and the ultra-wealthy will supposedly “trickle down” to those of us in the middle and lower class. The reality is that those at the top are masters at manipulating that trickle into what barely amounts to a slow drip when it reaches us.
What we really need is someone who will campaign and deliver on the promise of “trickle-down ethics.” Whether Republican or Democrat, man or woman, and regardless of religious affiliation, we desperately need someone with ethics, character, honesty, morals and integrity to lead this country, require it of their administration and expect it from each of us.
Lack of ethics is not limited to Donald Trump. It’s prevalent in both parties and at all levels of government, as well as in commerce and industry. The solution is up to us. We must call out dishonesty and lack of ethics when we see it. We cannot ignore it. We cannot accept it. We cannot excuse it. We cannot defend it. We cannot encourage it, even if it is being orchestrated by someone we voted for. ESPECIALLY if it’s coming from someone we voted for. Remember, that unethical politician is representing you personally; therefore, YOU are a part of the problem with lack of ethics in government unless you reject it.
There are less than three years until the next presidential election. Time is running out for us to get this right.
Jack Crawford
Saugus
Editor’s note: Out of curiosity, we ran a search online to see which president has golfed the most. The “fact checkers” on various websites don’t seem to agree 100%. But, Google’s artificial intelligence search results yield this as a sort of “consensus”: Woodrow Wilson played the most — about 1,200 rounds during eight years in office. Rounding out the leader board are: Dwight Eisenhower (800+), Bill Clinton (about 400), Barack Obama (about 333), and Trump during his first term, about 308, and 72 so far in his second term. It bears noting that Trump’s 2.8 handicap is viewed skeptically by his critics, and Clinton was known for taking the most mulligans. And we’ll just leave that last part without comment.
