America’s Descent into Moral Numbness
— Donald Menzel
Has America descended into a state of moral numbness? “Yes,” asserts New York Times columnist David Brooks (2025) who calls the situation “depressing.” And it truly is. Alas, there are so many men and women elected to public office in the U.S with questionable moral values as to turn an optimist into a lifelong cynic. Why is this happening? Have wannabe elected office seekers become electorally immune to immoral behavior? Is morality no longer a factor in influencing elections? Does anything go? Let’s hope not.
What’s happening? David Brooks offers two compelling arguments that the American electorate been morally immunized. First, he contends Americans are struggling to define their life purpose. This is a result of a breakdown of social roles and norms traditionally associated with family, tribal, city, and nationalistic networks. Social roles of the past, for example — soldier, farmer, merchant, mother, teacher—have built-in moral codes embedded in dense networks. Those codes have endured severe weakening by a culture that glorifies individualistic choice and muddles finding life’s purpose which, in turn, renders moral numbness.
Second, Middle Age Enlightenment, Brooks argues, may have added reasoning, compassion and humility to human purpose but “individuals didn’t choose their own morality—there was an essential moral order to the universe.” Bloody wars of religion in the 17th century in which “killing one another over whose morality is right” resulted in disenchantment with religion and reason and an alternative spin on morality, namely—“people can come up with their own values”—hence moral relativism. “People,” Brooks adds, “have been cut off from any vision of their ultimate purpose”—thus morally numb humans. Have Americans become “bland moral relativists: You do you. I’ll do me?”
These issues are not new. Great philosophers of the past such as the German Philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) believed there are moral laws that apply to all rational beings, regardless of personal desires or the specific situation. So, let’s take a moment to reflect further on the meaning of morality. What it is and is not. Humans carry a complex array of values ranging from mere opinions and preferences to deeply held attachments about right and wrong. Along this path are ethics which can be viewed as morality in action—in other words, an action or behavior that takes place. Morals are values too, but can be defined independent of behavior. Consider 1976 Presidential candidate Jimmy Carter’s once famous proclamation published in Playboy magazine, “I’ve looked on a lot of women with lust. I’ve committed adultery in my heart many times.” Jimmy Carter confessed to an immoral thought, but he didn’t say he had accosted or molested women. A thin line may separate ethical and moral values at times because both are concerned with right and wrong, but there is a difference.
Enter the Presidential election of 2024 and a candidate with an arguable moral center of gravity. Yet more than 70 million Americans cast their vote for him. Compelling evidence that moral numbness has taken hold? Perhaps! However, having said this, it would be shortsighted to conclude that the threat to America and the survival of democracy in America is the nihilistic behavior of a single individual. Rather, as suggested earlier about the historic causes of moral numbness, the struggle to define one’s life purpose and the spread of moral relativism are the villains. Unfortunately, these social diseases cannot easily be remedied.
So, where does that leave us? What might be done? The possible answers are not pleasant—it may take a catastrophic event such as a world war involving nuclear exchanges in which the United States is so devastated that Americans are awakened from their moral numbness. Another catastrophic event could include a second civil war in which the beliefs of morality per Christian nationalism confront moral numbness induced by moral relativism i.e., there is no right or wrong, only right vs right. This is not fantasy. Think about it. And, of course, there’s always the possibility of a planetary meltdown caused by an intergalactic collision or natural disaster.
These catastrophic events are unpredictable and may produce equally unpredictable results such as the dissolution of American democracy as we know it or the spread of dictatorial regimes worldwide and the return of great power politics in which force makes right and the strong prevail over the weak.
I warned you, dear reader, the remedies are not pleasant. But, I do agree with Brooks about the depressing state of moral numbness in America and equally important, what to do about it. Awaiting a catastrophic moment is not an acceptable alternative.
Source: David Brooks, “Why Do So Many People Think That Trump Is Good?” The Atlantic (July 8, 2025).
A note of thanks to OLLI Connects editors Al Carlson and Theresa D’Aiuto Sokol for their constructive criticism and encouragement in the development of this essay. I welcome your comments as well! All errors of commission or omission belong solely to the author.
Donald C. Menzel, Ph.D. is a past president of the American Society for Public Administration, author and international speaker on ethics reform. Don organized OLLI-USF’s China Special Interest Group. He also served as an OLLI-USF faculty member for over 10 years. Together with his wife, Kay, Don divides his time between Florida and Colorado, and contributes commentary on life’s moments and current issues in both locations.
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Award-Winning Cartoon by Art Henrikson
Diane Henrikson Russell, Curator Henrikson Archive
This cartoon appeared in the October, 1960 issue of The Quill, the magazine published by Sigma Delta Chi, the Professional Journalistic Fraternity. It is important to note that the tool used to remove the boulder of secrecy from the precarious route of civilization is the mighty ink pen. In recognition of his expertise in creating this cartoon, The Quill awarded my father the distinction of cartoonist of the month. The Quill’s editorial stated, “The challenge to the press in fulfilling its role in the America of the 60s is twofold. It must present and interpret the news of the world in such simple fashion that the average reader can comprehend, and second, it must constantly strive to awaken reader interest and understanding of the ‘hard’ news upon which intelligent decisions must be based in a free world.”
In 2025, a free press is vital as the current administration remakes our government. It is imperative that a free press continue to protect citizens by reporting accurately and in a timely fashion on all changes to the government and its alliances.
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