This is what happens when we are governed without shame

One of the precepts of Alcoholics Anonymous that drives the success of the program is the idea of healthy shame. It’s all part of taking a moral inventory and making amends. Applied in a positive way, free of guilt, shame helps to keep sober alcoholics focused. It’s meant not to drag one down but to increase motivation.

I bring this up to drive home the point that the concept of shame has disappeared entirely from the Republican Party. Its inglorious death matters because shame is so crucial in holding people in line.