It silently creeps in from the horizon as if to catch you off guard. Once it surprises you, you all of a sudden have this fierce desire to be up and moving about. No matter how desperately you want to hit the snooze button, it has a kind of energy that propels you out of sleep and thrusts you into your daily routine while filling you with hope and promise. It has the ability to create certain moods in you. Even the flowers cannot withstand its power. The radiance is so dazzling that they too stand to attention. By noon, it has graced half of the earth’s hemisphere. From there, slowly it begins to fall towards the night, but, before vanishing into what appears thin air (before existing off what appears center stage), it creates a whole new mood of rest and relaxation.

There is a difference between the moods that a sunrise and sunset creates. This week as the legislature prepares to enter into a special session, the issue about ethics will create the mood of how the state of Alabama is governed. Ethics have the same power that the sun has. It calls people to attention while at the same time sooths them.

Our entire lives are governed by ethics. The question is not whether we have ethics or not. Instead, we must ask if we are living up to the standards and principles that have been set. Creating tough ethics laws is not a new idea. Even in the garden, Adam and Eve were given a more excellent standard. They were informed about what they could eat and what they could not eat. Thus, from this story we can gather at least two principles for ethics: responsibility and accountability.

Every human being looks for responsibility. It is necessary because without it we could not grow. If you want to hinder someone’s growth, don’t give them any responsibility.

If the sun was not responsible for illuminating and warming the day, there would be no energy to awaken us out of a lethargic state of rest. Since the sun is responsible in its duty, it gives us hope and promise of a great day. That is to say, ethics reform is not about doom and gloom. It’s about a brighter day for Alabama.

Secondly for living up to a high standard is accountability. Everyone needs to be accountable to something. This legislation can be found in the relationship between Cain and Abel. Cain asked the ultimate question, “am I my brother’s keeper?”

In other words, “am I accountable for him?” Accountability is not about morality; instead, it is about maturity. The mature life is the fruit of accountability and morality is a by-product of maturity. For me, maturity is not about being a politician. It is about being a statesman. When one moves from what is politically right to what is always right, he or she has moved from being a politician to being a statesman.

If there is going to be a sunrise and sunset in Alabama, ethics reform must involve the process of creating such legislation that is not new but that is automatic.

The sun does not get new orders. It automatically shines, rises, and sets every day. We, too, must have ethics that are constant.