Malta’s moral compass: Approaching zero

It is an observation which has passed through my mind many times, but I think that in the light of recent events, it has become even more crystal clear. The Maltese nation, generally speaking, is completely losing its moral compass. The cynical will probably retort by saying that we never really had it in the first place.

It always astounds me what kind of behaviour people are willing to shrug off, or casually treat with a blasé “so what?” For every person who is shocked to the core and appalled by the current allegations of yet more corruption, you will find several others who simply dismiss it. Then there are those who are blissfully and deliberately oblivious to what is going on because they simply do not want to know (despite the flurry of online commentary, we sometimes forget that Facebook and the comment boards are not the real world and can often give us a skewed impression of reality).

Now, many equate sound values and morality with religious beliefs. I do not consider myself particularly religious in the conventional sense of the word, but when it comes to knowing what is right or wrong behaviour by those who hold public office, what is ethical and what is unethical, and what is downright illegal and criminal, I do not need anyone to spell it out for me. Yet, the impression I’m getting is that, for many, all of this is a very elastic, somewhat hazy, blurred line.

We also cannot ignore the fact that in many ways, we are such a hypocritical country: it is not unusual to hear someone spitting venom about people one minute, while busy making the sign of the cross the next, as they pass by a religious statue mounted on a roadside niche. (If you have ever ridden the bus you will see this superstitious gesture, although sometimes it is also made as soon as someone boards the bus, which probably has more to do with the fervent hope that the driver will get us all to our destination in one piece).

This is not to bash those who are truly devout and who really do practice what they preach – for them, I have the utmost respect. But, we have to be realistic here. The daily news which hits us between the eyes is pretty grim: politicians accused of corruption, people on the take, shady dealings, all types of crime and violence, sexual perversions and abuse, domestic violence and child neglect. How does this tally with the holier-than-thou image we like to project to the world?

Then you have the lying, cheating and scheming behaviour which doesn’t make the news but which you can find splashed all over the social media on any given day: whether it concerns landlords who try to rip off unsuspecting tenants, or tourists being charged twice as much as locals, or the smearing of reputations, or people insulting each other on the slightest pretext. And then, of course, there is the hate: against those who are different because they don’t vote like us, or share the same opinion or are from a different culture.

Now, please spare me any lectures about how this is not just happening now. I am fully aware of that. I would also like to pre-empt the inevitable mantra “where were you..?” by saying this deterioration in our social fabric has been a long time in coming.

The present situation has been building up over decades as people started to loosen their ties with the looming figure of Mother Church which used to give them strict guidelines on every aspect of their life and which they obeyed blindly and unquestioningly. And that is, I feel, actually part of the problem. Rather than truly believing in the Golden Rule which was drummed into our heads as kids, ‘do unto others as you would have them do unto you’…. all those hours of religious indoctrination were not being translated into the way people actually behaved with one another. You know, like being kind, and decent, and honest and forgiving.

Just to give an arbitrary example, what is the point, really, of being forced to go to Sunday Mass but then seeing your parents cheat on their income tax, or arguing with alarming viciousness, or speaking disparagingly about others for whatever reason? What is the point of reeling off prayers by heart and going to countless hours of muzew lessons if all children see around them is greed, lust for power and a world where superficiality, money and material things are the true gods?

The lack of a moral compass can be seen in the fact that corruption in the highest echelons of power is always viewed through a blue or red-tinted coloured lens, depending on the political party of your choice. It is also completely besides the point to get into the “our scandals/corruption were less than yours” argument because there is no such thing as a “little” corruption – if you are ready to cross the line for a measly amount, it only shows how easily corruptible you are.

And, if anything and everything can be smoothed over and justified depending on who does it, then we can make all the signs of the crosses in the world – for it does not mean a thing.