Broken windows and ethics

There are a variety of lines and restraints that we’re hoping preserve some semblance of democracy and justices as a group of vengeful vandals storm through the federal government. We’ve relied for too long, likely, on norms, which appear to be of little use any more. We do have federal judges slowly stepping up and attempting to enforce the rule of law. There are also some politicians starting to get energized, protests are happening, and bunches of lawsuits are being filed that may at least add some friction into the fast moving administrative coup process.

Given my recent obsession with ethics and values, the concept of “broken windows policing” drifted into my consciousness and made me consider another possible action that might feel empowering and useful in a time of despair.

According to Wikipedia, “the theory was introduced in a 1982 article by conservative think tanks social scientists James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling.^[1] It was popularized in the 1990s by New York City police commissioner William Bratton and mayor Rudy Giuliani, whose policing policies were influenced by the theory.” That last part was enough to make me throw up in my mouth as I consider who Giuliani became, but the sociology and psychology of the theory intrigue me.

It says, again according to Wikipedia, that “that policing methods that target minor crimes, such as vandalism, loitering, public drinking and fare evasion, help to create an atmosphere of order and lawfulness.” It is an overly simplified adaptation of social norm reinforcement, and it has been widely criticized as an approach to policing because of how police have applied it.

However, the subtle influence of social norms makes sense. There is an apartment building near our house that has been housing lower income folks since Covid and a number of the residents smoke. Quite often you can see them hanging out in a common area or on the public sidewalk, around which there has been a growing number of cigarette butts. My guess is that as soon as one person discards their butt on the ground, it creates a permission structure for the next person to do so. And once there are two, then the next person feels less guilty about following suit. And eventually, it becomes an acceptable norm to drop a discarded cigarette and junk up an entire area.

I believe the same thing might be true when it comes to ethical norms. For example, once upon a time, it was socially unacceptable to be openly racist. In the last two weeks, we learned that one of the young “men” that Elon Musk has loosed upon government agencies actually tweeted “I was racist before it was cool”. When that was first uncovered, he was summarily dismissed. And yet, within a matter of days the dark forces (lead by former assistant President JD Vance) in charge said he should be rehired and not held accountable for the youthfully indiscreet tweet (which he posted within the last few months).

We didn’t get to the place where a young white man could proudly proclaim his racism and be rewarded for it overnight. Racism has always been embedded in American culture, but it was largely moved to the closet after the Civil Rights Act and recovery from Jim Crow in the last half of the 20th century. You could argue that it started to peek out of the public, platformed closet with Donald Trump’s conspiracy theories directed at Barack Obama and his birth.

The last ten years have seen the standard for acceptable public behavior continually erode, to the point that formerly closeted racists, misogynists and other purveyors of hate now gleefully celebrate “freedom of speech”, thanks to Trumpian shifting of the window of ethically acceptable words and actions.

Once a few people act without ethics, particularly if they are leaders or influencers, they create a permission structure for lowering the bar for ethical behavior. I find it particularly galling that we have now eliminated the law enforcement ability to police graft, corruption, and foreign bribery. In Trumpian minds, not only is it not wrong to lie, cheat and steal, but you’re an idiot if you don’t (under the assumption that everyone is bent).

As Republican politicians and corporations cave to Trumpian standards, I really hope the average citizen among us can continually reflect on the values that guide healthy society and at least persist in our individual commitments to ethical behavior. The most courageous of us can continue to call out bad behavior, confront evil, and live out kindness. We might not be able to repair all of the broken ethical windows yet, but I will encourage folks in my circle to do the difficult work of clearly identifying their core values and doing regular reflection on what it looks like to think, speak, and act accordingly.

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