Re: FW: More ethics... (long, of course)

["Richard G. Combs" <richard -dot- combs -at- voyanttech -dot- com>]

Douglas S. Bailey (AL) wrote:

<snip>
> > At what point do you take the law into your own hands
> > and decide that the damn light is broken and you can
> > go on your way?
>
> You don't.  Period.  If you wait an hour before running it, are you going
to
> fight a policeman if he tries to issue you a ticket?
<snip>
>You can always make a right turn, a U-turn, and
> another right-turn.  Or barring that, make a U-turn and find another
route.
> Or any of the other options available.  It all hinges on your ratio of
> creativity vs. hell-bent desire to let your emotions control you, instead
of
> vice versa.

You're joking, right? Let's leave aside the fact that U-turns are usually
illegal and right turns on red often are. Do you seriously maintain that if
I don't sit there until it's repaired or find another route, I'm irrational,
whim-worshipping, and out of control? Doug, lighten up! And develop some
trust in your own (and most other people's) good judgment! ;-)

<snip>
> Regardless, it's not "OK" to ignore the law simply because your sense of
> ethics or morals tell you to do so.  When law and ethics conflict, change
> the law, don't just flat out break it.

So in 1850s Ohio, you'd have rounded up the fugitive slaves and returned
them to their masters. In 1940s Germany, you'd have ratted out the Jews
hiding in your neighbor's attic. In the 1950s Soviet Union, you'd have told
the KGB where Solzhenytsin hid his manuscript.

You cannot avoid responsibility for your actions by saying "I always follow
the law." You are a moral agent, you are capable of reasoning and making
choices, and you must take moral responsibility for the choices you make.
Therefore, you must always be prepared to judge -- your own decisions, the
decisions of others, _and the law_ -- and answer the question, to the best
of your ability, "Is this _right_?"

"If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice."
-- Rush, "Free Will"

Richard


------
Richard G. Combs
Senior Technical Writer
Voyant Technologies, Inc.
richard -dot- combs -at- voyanttech -dot- com
303-223-5111
------
rgcombs -at- free-market -dot- net
303-777-0436
------







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