Phil Mickelson, Prince Andrew, Joseph Castro: Their moral lapses provide lessons for all

Ethical controversies involving public figures provide food for thought. Consider, for example, Joseph Castro and Phil Mickelson. Castro resigned as chancellor of the California State University system after it came to light that he had mismanaged a sexual harassment case at Fresno State. Mickelson has come under fire for flirting with the idea of joining a golf league sponsored by Saudi Arabia.

These cases show how ethical lapses can cause pain and embarrassment. Inn both cases, however, there will be a soft landing. Castro is no longer chancellor, but he has retreat rights as a professor in the Cal State system. Mickelson lost major sponsors, but last year alone he earned $40 million in sponsorships.

Something is wrong in our culture, when a golfer makes that much money in a year. That’s a topic for another column. But money matters. Power and wealth give people a sense of impunity. Witness the sordid affair involving Jeffrey Epstein, Prince Andrew and Ghislaine Maxwell.

For ordinary people, reality is much harsher than it is for someone like Prince Andrew. Ordinary folks lose jobs over ethical crimes and misdemeanors. They can’t retreat to Buckingham Palace.

At any rate, these famous failures should prompt us to reflect on common human imperfections. In Mickelson’s case, the issue involves greed wrapped in cluelessness, which led him to deliberately ignore what he called the “scary” human rights record of his Saudi sponsors. In Castro’s case, the issue involves a failure to hold a colleague accountable for sexual harassment.

These ethical weak spots are common. It is easy to allow self-interest, friendship, and greed to cloud moral judgment. There is also the problem of moral lassitude. This is a lack of moral energy. Ethical laziness shows up when we wink at bad behavior in order to avoid conflict.

We all suffer from these problems. People make moral exceptions when money and friends are involved. It is easier to look the other way than to confront wrongdoing. This rises to the level of egregious criminality as in the case of Ghislaine Maxwell, who abetted Jeffrey Epstein’s underage sex trafficking. Her story is familiar. It is another example of the complicity of the sleazy sycophants who show up throughout the history of the world.

One solution to these problems involves making our behavior and our institutions more open and transparent. Secrecy allows misdeeds to fester. Exposure to sunlight and fresh air can prevent the rot from spreading. Another solution involves self-examination. Secret resentment, lust, and greed can be buried deep within the human heart. These pernicious tendencies grow in the dark, until exposed to self-criticism.

We also need ethical energy, which is the antidote to moral laziness. The key is to get turned on by doing the right thing. This doesn’t mean you have to be a self-righteous busybody. Rather, it means that you should take pride in your own moral hygiene. You should lean into the effort to be better.

It is also important to apologize, make amends, and accept punishment when you make a moral mistake. An apology does not mean that everything will be forgotten or that bad behavior will go unpunished. Morality and the law both involve a penalty phase. But the ability to admit wrongdoing and accept the penalty with grace is an important component of moral maturity.

It is difficult, of course, to evaluate the sincerity of an apology that is prompted by investigations and accusations—whether at work or at home. Remorse and regret must go beyond words. They must be manifested in deeds. This involves making amends and taking preventive action with regard to the habits and attitudes that got you in trouble in the first place.

An important take-away from these episodes is that once the taint of moral failure touches you, it is hard to remove. Even the rich and powerful suffer when they make moral mistakes. Perhaps it is not fair to judge people by their worst moments. But the truth is that misdeeds typically stick in the public mind longer than good deeds do.

This should give the rich and the powerful an incentive to be more ethical. It should also remind the rest of us to keep working at becoming better.