ETHICS: Digesting Moral Fiber
“A man who doesn’t stand for something will fall for anything.”
So sayeth Peter Marshall and so agree-eth yours truly. Ethics are the vertebrae in the backbone that enables our society to stand tall and strong – without which we would fall into an oozing puddle of moral ambivalence.
The E word was chosen as a natural progression from last month’s theme because Power tends to come with a correlative dose of responsibility – and responsibility for consequences is the focus of most ethical discourse.
Tackling this theme was a really satisfying exercise for me and other contributors, not least because we were developing our submissions with anticipation [read: dread] of this month and the commercially-supported morality that comes with it. The holiday season and impending New Year are the perfect reminders to reflect on our Ethics, in the sense of whether we’ve been “good” (moral ethics) but also how we want to change the way we live our lives across the board (methodical ethics).
This month’s ‘ideas without borders’ article is a thought experiment on the latter sense – exploring how a universalized work ethic could have an impact on our collective sense of creativity, entrepreneurship and individual value to society. While I was writing it, an email exchange about the voluntary nature of FU and the work ethic behind it, reminded me that I have always been passionate (and admittedly rigid) about the importance, when taking on any commitment, of seeing it through. As an ethic it’s both moral and methodical – a cornerstone of the just society we all want to live in. We hold different values closest to our hearts, but mine has always been conviction: recognizing when I have the power to make something worthwhile happen, making a commitment to strive for it and accepting the responsibility to see it through.
I’ve had disagreements on FU and other projects about my “intensity” when a promise is made, then the promising party slides from busy to missing in action. Nobody’s perfect, we all know that life gets in the way. But I don’t think the answer is to become more casual in our approach to commitment, as many of my peers have suggested that I do. After all, what would happen if world leaders or integral global institutions (or even Jesus) made commitments then expected someone else to bail them out when they couldn’t follow through? Hmm…
Taking responsibility for the consequences of your actions means owning your failures as well as your successes. A tough pill to swallow for most, but then many ethical imperatives are not as easy as they are simple – and this is due to a few inconvenient truths about the human condition. Our contributions this month tackle some of these head on.
First up is complacency. Alex covers this point rather well by discussing the perils of reputation - namely that if someone is renowned for doing good deeds, they can commit the occasional bad act and be far more easily forgiven for it. This highlights the interesting fact that human beings sometimes have trouble distinguishing between (and subsequently judging) acts committed in the past, present and future.
Next is our innate selfishness. Maya’s take on “collective freedom” asserts an idea that is rationally sound (especially in our current economic climate) but highly unpopular with most working Americans: sharing wealth equally. Again it’s interesting that the first lesson we’re taught in order to play well with other kids, immediately goes out of the window once we become tax paying adults.
Thirdly there’s procrastination, i.e. the human tendency to acquiesce in the grey area between two decisive courses of action, particularly when the right thing to do is the more difficult. Mary’s cartoon captures this conundrum sweetly, while her good friend Will (who features as a character in said toon) has written his own response to this theme by sharing a personal instance where he bit the bullet and chose the much more difficult path.
Ultimately, the biggest flaw in all prescriptions for human behavior, is that they are created (or at least interpreted) by human beings ourselves. This gives rise to all manner of corruption, as demonstrated throughout our global history of government, religion and war – and persists in the form of subjective ethical principles, found in niche pockets all over our society. Ron’s article delivers an unblinking view of the questionable approach to stealing in Hollywood, introduced with a quote about vigilante law to drive the parallel of double standards, directly home.
Double-standards, conflicting signals, broken promises… this is why we’re here discussing this topic in this month. We end 2008 in a world of economical, political and environmental confusion. At every turn there are messages, subliminal and otherwise, pulling our focus and willpower every which way. This is most apparent in the commercial sphere, as Natalie’s insightful photo journal highlights in careful detail.
Voices with the courage of conviction are clearly needed – to wake us up, to prompt us to ask questions and to guide us forward. Ethics is the compass that helps us to do right instead of merely acknowledge it.
The best start is to do right by yourself, as C.Z.’s KMA Clause humorously declares. From there the next step is to do right by others, as Tom does in his role as a high school teacher. And our ultimate end is to do right by the world – by making commitments (voluntary and otherwise), by taking them seriously and by remembering that we always have the power to see them through.
by Onika Simon
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