RMJ has an excellent post up that is worth reading.
The Hebrew prophets got it right, and to sum it up in one sentence (no, not the "Golden Rule," that's honestly a bit too narrow), I always turn to Micah: "What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God." For those of a non-religious bent, or a non-Judeo-Christian persuasion, elide the last three words if you like. It still works. And what does it have to do with lamenting (and implicitly arguing for changing) "the collapse of civic virtue among voters"? Especially if you think your ideas of "civic virtue" would make a fine starting point for upbraiding everyone else on theirs. Humility is hard. It's also vitally necessary.
As I commented there, I thought maybe adding something to Micah about being honest with yourself about your own motives should be included, then I realized as I read further that self-doubting and self-questioning was an intrinsic part of humility. Obviously it's something I need to work on more.
He continues on in ways that make it not only relevant to political life and, more importantly, social life but showing that the difference between following that path outlined by Micah and that of the likes of Trump is the difference between decency and Trumpian gangsterism. Though those are my terms for it.
I love the distinction RMJ makes between the concise statement of The Law, the "golden rule" and the non-legalistic perhaps more covenantal practice in Micah's words. At least that's how I'm thinking about it right now.
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