RE: Ethics and Job-Hunting

[Arlen -dot- P -dot- Walker -at- jci -dot- com]

> "I must assume that anyone who, in a democratic society, documents
> a product advocates its use."

I've stayed silent during most of the marsh gas which has been posted on
this thread, but this crossed even *my* limit.

Where do I begin? One "must assume" nothing. One *can* assume whatever one
wishes to assume; assumptions, by definition, lack any logical
underpinnings so may be anything one chooses them to be. But *must* assume?
Is there a gun to the poster's head? I suspect, and will continue on the
suspicion, that the poster meant this to be a logical derivation somehow.

Then there's "democratic." What does *that* have to do with anything? If
you were compelled to work in whatever job the majority wished you to work
in, that would be a democratic society. Yet, obviously, there would be no
connection between your job and your personal opinions. It's a capital
mistake to confuse democratic and free. I suspect (again) the poster meant
"free," or possibly "free and democratic," society.

Does this hold water even then? Hardly. First off, there's the assumption
that advocacy is the only possible reason for taking a job. No one ever, I
suppose, takes a job because it is the only thing available at the moment
and will put food on the table and clothes on the kids. Or takes the "least
objectionable" job for the same reasons. And advocacy is a strong word.
Isn't it posible that an auto worker might not care whether you drive *any*
car, much less the car he builds?

And further, how immediate must the usage be? Does a vegetable farmer
therefore advocate the use of arsenic (a compound found in some vegetables)
on human beings? Must a lead miner advocate the use of guns? A rock quarry
operator the use of slingshots? OK, let's make the usage more immediate:
You write the small instruction pamphlet found in a box of tampons. Must
you therefore advocate the use of tampons? Or might you simply have nothing
against their use? Might it be that the usage of the product at all is a
matter of indifference to you?

If you write an instruction manual for condoms, are you therefore
advocating sex in all its forms? Or are you simply advocating that if
someone chooses to use a condom, they should at least be able to use it
correctly? Again, must you be in favor of their use at all, rather than
simply concerned about their proper usage versus their improper usage?

Please, go ahead and work (or not work) for whoever it is you choose for
whatever reason you find sufficient. The ultimate freedom, to paraphrase EF
Russell, is the freedom to say "No." Just don't claim to know what people
believe before they tell you; it's arrogant at worst, and just plain
discourteous at best.

(I get touchy about things like that; stems from the time a batch of fools
tried to tell me I was against free specch because of the uniform I was
wearing, when in order to put the blasted thing on in the first place I had
to promise to give up my life in defense of that very thing. It's kind of
galling to stand there having fools yell at you, but that *is* what freedom
of speech is all about, and that's what you believe in and why you're doing
what you're doing, so you take it. Haven't been very tolerant of idiocy
since.)

Have fun,
Arlen
Chief Managing Director In Charge, Department of Redundancy Department
DNRC 224

Arlen -dot- P -dot- Walker -at- JCI -dot- Com
----------------------------------------------
In God we trust; all others must provide data.
----------------------------------------------
Opinions expressed are mine and mine alone.
If JCI had an opinion on this, they'd hire someone else to deliver it.


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Collect Royalties, Not Rejection Letters! Tell us your rejection story when you 
submit your manuscript to iUniverse Nov. 6 -Dec. 15 and get five free copies of 
your book. What are you waiting for? http://www.iuniverse.com/media/techwr

Have you looked at the new content on TECHWR-L lately?
See http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ and check it out.

---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot-  Visit 
http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.