Moral Decay: Is America Rotting To The Core?

Have We Lost The Moral High Ground? 

Under this administration's leadership, we’ve seen weak attempts to defend and justify actions that outright violate the Constitution and go against everything our nation was built on. Trust.

Circling back to “what does it mean to be an American in 2026?”, our answer may not be that different from that of the colonists tired of British rule or of immigrants arriving at Ellis Island, coming to a new world for new beginnings. (Listen to my No Kings Speech here.) Then, and now, all we want is a country where everyone has the freedom and opportunity to succeed and live a comfortable life, without a government encroaching on their human rights—the American Dream.

Since January 2025, at least 34 people have died in ICE custody, and at least ten people have been killed in shooting deaths by ICE officers, including Americans Alex Pretti and Renee Good. This is a marked increase in the agency’s two-decade history, according to the statistics published on the official ICE website. This is just the first point of a much larger pattern that needs to be broken. These are human beings with names, with families, with stories that deserve to be told differently. They deserve justice, a fundamental human right. 

The ACLU has documented dozens of instances in 2025 and 2026 alone of immigration enforcement operations that have violated due process, targeted naturalized citizens, and separated families without legal basis. When the agents of government are not bound by the law they claim to uphold, there is no law at all. There is only power, and power without accountability is the oldest enemy of our democracy.   

We are currently actively dropping billions of dollars in bombs, ammunition, missiles, and other military weapons on Iran in a sustained bombardment that Congress has not authorized. A direct violation of the War Powers Resolution, which requires the President to notify Congress within 48 hours of committing U.S. forces to armed conflict and limits unauthorized engagements to 60 days. We have blown up multiple ships in international waters and killed the shipwrecked survivors. A clear violation of the Geneva Conventions and international maritime law, all while, according to the Pew Research Center, about six-in-ten Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of the recent conflict. Are we beginning to see the pattern here?

We kidnapped the President of Venezuela and his wife in January to hold them accountable for violations of U.S. law. Still, Donald Trump pardoned the President of Honduras in December, who was in prison on a 45-year prison sentence for the same crimes. The message this sends to the world is not one of justice. It is one of the selective, politically convenient punishments. We do not stand for the rule of law. We stand for the law as it applies to our enemies. Inconsistency cannot be the norm. We need to hold those responsible for crimes accountable. When we don’t, we do nothing to end the pattern of letting the powerful few pick and choose, pushing us further away from trusting our government. 

Donald Trump called for the hanging of a group of sitting Senators who made a factual video telling servicemembers that they must not follow unlawful orders. We have deployed troops to the streets of American cities. We are building massive detention facilities across the country. We sent American citizens to prison in El Salvador. We changed the vaccine schedule without consulting doctors or other licensed physicians. The United States government is actively involved in the largest cover-up of sexual abuse and pedophilia in modern history. If this show were streaming on Hulu, people would be rushing production to see the next season, but NO one is asking to live through these crazy episodes in real life.

I might be disappointed in my country, but I am here, ready to serve and do the work necessary to restore the Constitutional balance and give us the best ending to a bad season.

I believe that the United States can be a force for good in the world. When we have been at our best, we have stood for something and practiced what we preach. But we cannot export democracy while dismantling it at home, nor can we call ourselves the leader of the free world while locking up our own citizens without trials. Moral superiority is earned, every single day, in every single decision we make. That is why we must also look at those we choose to represent us.

It is time to hold elected officials accountable and demand that leaders work to keep their seats. They have grown too comfortable, and it’s time they know we’re paying attention. Just as a pilot episode fights for views to earn a whole season, leaders must regain your trust and work for your vote. Now is our moment to take power back with our vote, because ultimately, it’s the people’s choice whether you keep your seat or not. I am talking to you, Tom Cole.

I’ll leave you with something to think about that we will unpack next Sunday. If we can’t trust ourselves, how can anyone trust us? 

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Detainee Death Reporting, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, https://www.ice.gov/detain/detainee-death-reporting (last accessed 3/7/2026). 

Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatthose responsible for itment of Prisoners of War (1949), 75 U.N.T.S. 135; See also Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and Relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I) (1977).

ACLU Report: Immigration Enforcement and Civil Liberties Concerns, American Civil Liberties Union (2025), https://www.aclu.org/report/immigration-enforcemein the hands of the people. After all, it’s the people’s choice whethernt-civil-liberties