• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Towleroad Gay News

Gay Blog Towleroad: More than gay news | gay men

  • Travel
  • Sports
  • Law/Justice
  • Celebrities
  • Republicans
  • Madonna
  • Books
  • Men
  • Trans Rights
  • Royals
  • Monkeypox
  • Corporate giants say anti-LGBT law would hurt Uganda’s economy
  • Early 2024 salvos foreshadow unpredictable Trump vs DeSantis fight
  • Megyn Kelly Attacks Trans Swimmer Lia Thomas After She’s Honored By ESPN For Women’s History Month

House Impeachment Inquiry May Help Restore the Political and Social Norms That Trump Flouts

Sunita Sah, The Conversation November 13, 2019 Leave a Comment

young vibrant man

President Donald Trump regularly uses blatant violations of long-established social and political norms to signal his “authenticity” to supporters.

Asking foreign countries to investigate and deliver dirt on his political opponents, which prompted an impeachment inquiry in the U.S. House of Representatives, is the most recent example in a long string of norm-shattering behaviors. Other examples of flouting the standards of his presidential office include defending white nationalists, attacking prisoners of war, abusing the use of emergency powers, personally criticizing federal judges and much more.

Norms are perceptions or beliefs about what we understand the rules for acceptable behavior to be. They are powerful predictors of behavior. By openly broadcasting his anomalous actions and views, Trump is shifting public attitudes about what is deemed appropriate – not only in politics, but also in society.

However, based on my research on institutional corruption, ethical decision-making and the power of professional norms, I know norms can be shifted – even reversed – by activities like the House’s impeachment inquiry.

The power of norms

Norms are crucial in understanding how people succumb to unethical influences. We often decide what to do in a situation by first looking at what others are doing.

For example, if a financial adviser starts working in an institution in which her managers and leaders condone unethical practices that put profits over clients, she will understand the norm in that environment to be “self-interest first.” It then becomes perfectly appropriate, and even desirable, for that adviser to succumb to conflicts of interest and neglect or even defraud clients in the pursuit of profits.

Such behavior was evident in financial crises in the U.S. and more recently in Australia, which I examined for the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Financial Services Industry.

And institutional norms, once set, can be incredibly persistent.

My recent research shows that requiring advisers to disclose conflicts of interest – the ways they would profit from their advice – doesn’t work if the company’s norms put self-interest first. In fact, disclosure in these instances can actually make things worse by leading to more biased advice.

However, if the institutional norm was to put “clients first,” disclosure improved the quality of advice.

How norms shift

Fortunately, Americans draw on many sources of information to perceive norms, not just the president’s deeds and tweets.

The behavior of other people, mass media and laws all factor into how we think about norms – good or bad – and can influence norm shifts.

For example, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage in 2015, a survey of norms and attitudes revealed that Americans perceived stronger and increasing public support for gay marriage after the ruling. This shift in perceived norms occurred in spite of the fact that personal attitudes toward gay marriage did not immediately change.

These shifts matter because norms can actually change our minds over time. A more recent 2019 study found that the Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage ultimately changed attitudes as well as norms, resulting in a reduced anti-gay bias in many parts of the country.

Re-establishing ethical norms

Although people select which news sources and peers to pay attention to, it is hard to ignore the behavior of the president. That’s why pursuing Trump’s impeachment, regardless of whether it is successful or not, is necessary to give a clear, authoritative legal signal of what is unacceptable behavior.

Of course, re-establishing the norms that have been broken over the past few years will take more than the actions of the political party that opposes the president. The voices of Republicans are also important. But so far, their general silence has only strengthened Trump’s ability to break down norms.

Research on obedience and conformity show that all it takes is one dissenting voice to speak out against authority to inspire others to do the same.

If more whistleblowers, Republicans and members of the administration speak up, the ethical, social and political norms that Trump has broken may start to regain their vitality.

[ Deep knowledge, daily. Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter. ]The Conversation

Sunita Sah, Associate Professor of Management and Organizations, Cornell University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Topics: Actor, Daily Resist, Politics, Society More Posts About: Daily Resist, Donald Trump, Impeachment

Related Posts
  • Early 2024 salvos foreshadow unpredictable Trump vs DeSantis fight
  • Tucker Carlson Backtracks After Claiming He ‘Passionately’ Hates Donald Trump: ‘I Love’ Him ‘As A Person’
  • Trump’s yawn-inducing Waco ‘pity party’ buried by former GOP adviser
  • Early 2024 salvos foreshadow unpredictable Trump vs DeSantis fight

    Early 2024 salvos foreshadow unpredictable Trump vs DeSantis fight

    Published by Reuters By Tim Reid, Alexandra Ulmer and James Oliphant (Reuters) – The battle for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination has for months been seen as a two-man race: a fight between Donald Trump and …Read More »
  • Megyn Kelly Attacks Trans Swimmer Lia Thomas After She’s Honored By ESPN For Women’s History Month

    Megyn Kelly Attacks Trans Swimmer Lia Thomas After She’s Honored By ESPN For Women’s History Month

    Published by Radar Online @liakthomas/Instagram, mega Political pundit Megyn Kelly blasted collegiate transgender swimmer Lia Thomas after ESPN honored the athlete as part of its Women’s History Month celebration, RadarOnline.com has learned. In yet another attempt …Read More »
  • Nashville school shooter had ’emotional disorder’ and small arsenal, police say

    Nashville school shooter had ’emotional disorder’ and small arsenal, police say

    Published by Reuters By Sandra Stojanovic NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Reuters) – The 28-year-old former student who killed three children and three adults at a Christian grade school in Nashville on Monday was under a doctor’s care for …Read More »
  • Emily Ratajkowski ‘Begging’ Pal Olivia Wilde For ‘Forgiveness’ After Messy Harry Styles Make Out, Spills Source: ‘This Is A Betrayal’

    Emily Ratajkowski ‘Begging’ Pal Olivia Wilde For ‘Forgiveness’ After Messy Harry Styles Make Out, Spills Source: ‘This Is A Betrayal’

    Published by OK Magazine mega Emily Ratajkowski found herself in hot water with Olivia Wilde after locking lips with the director’s ex-boyfriend Harry Styles. According to an insider, the supermodel is “begging” Wilde, 39, for “forgiveness” …Read More »
Previous Post: « Man Filmed Swimming Across Venice’s St. Mark’s Square Amid Historic Flooding: WATCH
Next Post: Apparently There is a Drag Queen at the Impeachment Hearings »

Primary Sidebar

Adjacent News

  • Portraits of Dogs: London’s Wallace Collection explores canine character and charm

    Portraits of Dogs: London’s Wallace Collection explores canine character and charm

  • LGBTQ+ trailblazer and comedian Paul O’Grady dies at 67

    LGBTQ+ trailblazer and comedian Paul O’Grady dies at 67

  • Florida bill would instantly ban books based on a single objection from one resident

    Florida bill would instantly ban books based on a single objection from one resident

Good Trash: Going to Read It Somewhere, Y'know

  • Kanye West thanks Jonah Hill for making him ‘like Jewish people again’

    Kanye West thanks Jonah Hill for making him ‘like Jewish people again’

  • Harry Styles, Emily Ratajkowski And Olivia Wilde Spark ‘Throuple’ Chatter In Hollywood After Wild Make-Out Session Caught On Video

    Harry Styles, Emily Ratajkowski And Olivia Wilde Spark ‘Throuple’ Chatter In Hollywood After Wild Make-Out Session Caught On Video

  • Jennifer Aniston Recalls Cher Poking Fun At Her For Eating All The Cold Cuts In Her Home During Actress’ High School Days

    Jennifer Aniston Recalls Cher Poking Fun At Her For Eating All The Cold Cuts In Her Home During Actress’ High School Days

RSS Partner Links

  • An error has occurred, which probably means the feed is down. Try again later.

Most Recent

  • Corporate giants say anti-LGBT law would hurt Uganda’s economy

    Corporate giants say anti-LGBT law would hurt Uganda’s economy

  • Early 2024 salvos foreshadow unpredictable Trump vs DeSantis fight

    Early 2024 salvos foreshadow unpredictable Trump vs DeSantis fight

  • Megyn Kelly Attacks Trans Swimmer Lia Thomas After She’s Honored By ESPN For Women’s History Month

    Megyn Kelly Attacks Trans Swimmer Lia Thomas After She’s Honored By ESPN For Women’s History Month

  • Nashville school shooter had ’emotional disorder’ and small arsenal, police say

    Nashville school shooter had ’emotional disorder’ and small arsenal, police say

  • Emily Ratajkowski ‘Begging’ Pal Olivia Wilde For ‘Forgiveness’ After Messy Harry Styles Make Out, Spills Source: ‘This Is A Betrayal’

    Emily Ratajkowski ‘Begging’ Pal Olivia Wilde For ‘Forgiveness’ After Messy Harry Styles Make Out, Spills Source: ‘This Is A Betrayal’

  • Madonna Ridicules Tennessee Lawmakers’ ‘Unacceptable & Inhumane Oppression Of LGBTQ+ Community’: ‘See You In Nashville’

    Madonna Ridicules Tennessee Lawmakers’ ‘Unacceptable & Inhumane Oppression Of LGBTQ+ Community’: ‘See You In Nashville’

  • Adam Lambert got a job at Starbucks to buy makeup

    Adam Lambert got a job at Starbucks to buy makeup

  • Sir Elton John walks six miles a week in his swimming pool

    Sir Elton John walks six miles a week in his swimming pool

Most Commented

Social

Twitter @tlrd | Facebook | Instagram @tlrd

Footer

Copyright © 2023 · Log in

×