Editor, Gazette-Journal:

When did “by any means necessary” become an acceptable credo for our politics? You don’t have to extrapolate much to see that this leads to the biggest crook being in charge. Do we really want liars and thieves making laws? Whose interest do you think they will spend their efforts on … yours or theirs?

“By any means necessary” absolves them of any expectation of honor or dignity. It places, instead, all emphasis on winning—no matter what moral codes are violated in the process. They escape shame by disenfranchising all moral codes. With no morals there is no sin, they rationalize.

When I went to college at Virginia Tech I was in the Cadet Corps. Their honor code was simple and encapsulated in the oath we all took: “I will not lie, cheat, or steal and I will not tolerate anyone who does.” The code was rigorously administered by the cadets themselves, with punishments up to and including “drumming ou...