“The
right to do something does not mean that doing it is right.”
– William
Safire, American author, columnist, journalist
I often see
Americans – people who admittedly have a strong investment in
preserving their precious rights – do things that are legal, but
that offend others. These people have a strong belief in their
individual rights and use this conviction to ignore any obligation to
a code of ethics. They love to cite the Constitution and the laws
that protect their questionable behaviors and they take pride in
living within the law and without respectful moral principles. In
other words, they do these things simply because “they can.”
For example,
I have seen parents smoke among other adults (and even their younger
kids) while standing in the school parking lot waiting to pick up
their children after school. They carelessly blow their smoke among
the crowd and bristle when someone objects. Then, they usually drop
their cigarette butts on school property and leave the trash for
someone else to dispose of. I marvel that these folks cannot refrain
from smoking for such a short period of time … or do they, as I
suspect, do what they do just because they feel “they have the
right to do so.”
And, I have seen people
proudly display the Confederate flag on their homes and on their
vehicles. Many of these people claim to be preserving history and
honoring a great American past. While ignoring the direct association
with the unspeakable horrors of the system of slavery, they glorify
the Lost Cause and incessantly argue that a “battle flag,”
although a recognized symbol of the Confederacy, does not ignite
continued philosophical, political, cultural, and racial controversy
in the United States. Most seem to relish the “rebel” symbol as
emblematic of their 21st century persona – a banner
certainly legal to display, but highly offensive in its presence to
many who view it.
Perhaps the most prominent
battlegrounds of legal and ethical issues are social networks. The
development of these websites raises a series of questions regarding
the users’ ethical behavior and also the moral responsibility of
the social network sites administrators. Cyber bullying, hacking,
privacy infringements, and personal defamation all pose significant
risks. And, of course, many angry Internet users are quick to jump to
name calling and other forms of denigration when someone posts
something that they don’t like. Many refuse to apply so much as a
simple test of proper behavior online – “Would I say this to
someone standing right in front of me?”
Many of us have “blind
spots” where ethics is concerned. These blind spots are the gaps
between who we want to be and the person we are. In other words, most
of us want to do the right thing but internal and external pressures
get in the way. Laws, as essential to good conduct as they are, never
define all tenets of morality. By being moral, we enrich our lives
and the lives of those around us.
Ethics is concerned with
what is good for individuals and society and is also described as
moral philosophy. The term “ethics” is derived from the
Greek word ethos which can mean “custom, habit, character or
disposition.” Our concepts of ethics are derived from religions,
cultures, and philosophies. They cover the dilemmas of how to live a
good life, our rights and responsibilities, and moral decisions.
Ethics are based on our
values. Values are standards or ideals with which we evaluate
actions, people, things, or situations. Beauty, honesty, justice,
peace, generosity are all examples of values that many people
endorse. In thinking about values it is useful to distinguish them
into three kinds: personal values, moral values, and aesthetic
values.
Our values help determine
our principles of standard behavior. They guide or motivate our
attitudes and actions. Generally, we are predisposed to adopt the
values with which we are raised. So, we tend to believe that those
values are “right” because they are the values of our particular
culture.
Ethical decision-making
often involves weighing values against each other and choosing which
values to elevate. Conflicts can result when people have different
values, leading to a clash of preferences and priorities.
Therefore, being ethical
requires making a moral judgment, and that’s not always easy.
Ethical behavior takes courage and has to be practiced. The ethical
choices we make often occur in the public arena. There, we display
our personal values.
So, in our daily lives, we
face decisions that requires us to ask “What should I do?” If
there is a law to guide us, it may seem easy – we probably just
follow it. But, what if that decision requires a moral judgment and a
choice involving ethics? What happens when our personal, religious
and/or moral principles seem to be in conflict with the rights and
values of others, or even with larger concepts of compassion and
justice?
It is here – in the face
of others with their own values – that the right to do something
may conflict with the ethics of doing that very thing. Oh yes,
liberty and legality may be deeply rooted in our values; however,
shouldn't our obligation to others be just as fixed in our
principles?
I believe respecting the
values of others, promoting the public interest, and strengthening
social equality are increasingly important. Too often today people
delight in engaging in behaviors that divide society. Many of these
folks use controversial means to strengthen their ego or to further
their narrow, selfish desires. Their sense of “me” makes them
oblivious to the diverse values of “them.” Lost in this equation
is the Golden Rule – “Do unto others as you would have them do
unto you.” Also sorely lacking is the golden corollary, the Silver
Rule, which focuses on restraint and non-harm: “Do nothing to
others you would not have done to you.”
In conclusion, many people
make the mistake of thinking that following the law equates with
being an ethical person. This is known as “ethical legalism.” The
belief is flawed. The law does not prohibit many acts that would be
widely condemned as unethical such as lying, cheating on one's
spouse, or betraying the confidence of a friend. The laws set minimum
standards of ethical behavior, and ethical people go beyond the laws
in their respect for others.
When the rules are
unclear, an ethical person looks beyond his/her own self-interest and
evaluates the interests of the stakeholders potentially affected by
the action or decision. Two innocent truisms about
the law lie behind much of the difficulty we have in understanding
the relations between law and morality: The law can be valuable, but
it can also be the source of much evil. Using the law for personal
advantage at the cost of ignoring the common good is certainly
dishonorable and potentially malicious.
“The
existence of law is one thing; its merit or demerit another.”
-- John
Austin
Postscript
If
you are caught in an ethical dilemma, you may use these tests to
determine a course of action …
The Legal Test
Is there a law being
broken? If yes, the issue is of disobedience with enforceable laws,
as opposed to the unenforceable principles of a moral code. If it is
legal, there are three more tests to decide whether it is right or
wrong.
The Stench Test
Does the course of action
have the stench of corruption? This is a test of your instincts and
determines the level of morality on a psychological level.
How would you feel if your
action showed up on the front page of the newspaper the next day?
Most people would never do certain things if there was a chance that
other people would find out about it. This is a test of your social
morals.
The Mom Test
This test involves asking
oneself, ‘What would mom think if she knew about this?’ When you
put yourself in the shoes of another person (who cares deeply about
you), you get a better idea of what you’re doing.
(Sushmitha
Hegde. “What Is An Ethical Dilemma?”
www.scienceabc.com/social-science.
February, 2019.)
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