A new Pew Research Center survey of 25 countries found Americans are “especially likely to view fellow citizens as morally bad.” Indeed, 53 percent of U.S. adults say Americans “have bad morals and ethics.” Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Much depends on the behavior being judged, as well as the judges.
At the top of the list, more Americans view married people having an affair to be morally unacceptable than any other behavior in the survey. It was followed by using marijuana, viewing pornography, gambling, having an abortion, homosexuality, drinking alcohol, getting a divorce or using contraceptives, in that order.
The authors of the survey use terms like being “moralistic” in reference to being judgmental. Similarly, they say such persons “are inclined to judge various behaviors to be immoral or sinful.” Though they do not say so explicitly, it is commonplace in liberal circles to speak negatively of those who are particularly “moralistic.”
Now it is true that some people are extremely judgmental about any behaviors they find unacceptable. At the other extreme, where is the virtue in not being “moralistic” about anything? Take abortion.
The public is split on this issue: 32 percent find abortion to be morally unacceptable; 30 percent say it is morally acceptable; 21 percent believe it is not a moral issue. All are judgmental, including those who judge it not to be a moral issue. But in elite quarters, which are overwhelmingly liberal, the moralizers are the ones who find it to be morally unacceptable.
In 1920, Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, wrote that the “most merciful thing that the large family does to one of its infant members is to kill it.” Would that be scored as “moralistic”? If not, why not?
A few years ago, we were ordered to wear masks, even though many who crafted this edict refused to do so themselves. District attorneys ordered those who committed serious crimes to be released as soon as they were caught. Illegal aliens invaded our country, a direct result of public policy. The movement to decriminalize prostitution is gaining. Teachers who call a girl who falsely calls herself a boy as “she” or “her” are punished.
Are those who made these decisions paragons of virtue, or are they guilty of being “moralistic”? We know what the mainstream media think, but were they right?
Being excessively judgmental is problematic, but making highly judgmental decisions, while pretending not to be “moralistic,” is nauseating. At issue is not the behaviors being judged; it is the ideological makeup of the judges.
