Observing the endless stream of immoral and amoral political garbage that piles up daily in Washington makes me thankful that I learned early on how important it is to clearly define your moral standards.

By doing so, it gives you an ethical compass that prevents you from straying off course when the winds of temptation begin howling around your ship of life. Millions of people continually crash on the rocks of bad consequences, often suffering irreparable damage because they allowed themselves to get trapped in rough waters without first making sure that they had their ethical compasses aboard.

I am absolutely convinced that for any strategy or plan of action to be sound, it must begin with a solid moral foundation. Without such a foundation, anything a person tries to build is likely to crumble. The bad effect of a bad cause may not show up immediately, but — you can take it to the bank — it’s only a matter of time until it makes its appearance.

Possessing a strong moral foundation means having a clear set of values that predetermines your day-to-day behavior. You need to know what you believe in ahead of time in order to understand why you should do things a certain way. What do you believe is moral? What do you believe is immoral? What do you believe is ethical? What do you believe is unethical?

If you don’t formulate your moral beliefs ahead of time, you run the risk of basing your actions on spur-of-the-moment whims, emotion, or instant gratification — revising your ethical standards to fit each new situation as it arises.

If a person does not possess a rigid standard of right and wrong, it’s quite easy for right to mutate into whatever he perceives to be in his immediate best interest at any given time, which is a fool-proof formula for failure.

Thus, it’s important to decide on a clear, concise set of moral values when your intellect is in control. Then, in highly emotional situations, you’re more likely to act in accordance with the moral standards that you have decided, in advance, to live by.

I’m not a saint, nor have I ever known one. But I am convinced that STRIVING to be consistent in one’s thoughts, words, and actions works out a whole lot better than trying to morally fudge your way through life.