Ethics
December 10th, 2005 -
Borrowing from Hippocrates: “First, Do No Harm.”
We can summarily dismiss as unethical the actions of those who harm others, whether for personal gain, through negligence, or through base spite.
“Second, be sure that what you are doing is good.”
We will all correctly discern, on Judgment Day, whether we have been right or wrong all along.
Sometimes both the actor and the recipient agree on what “good” is, and sometimes both are correct. A notable common exception to this is “giving a drunk a drink”.
Other times, the actor may claim to have the best intention, and may even have “convinced” himself of his claim. Lies repeated often and loudly enough, even by and to one’s self, can be quite persuasive, especially when those lies are echoed by sources considered authoritative, such as a government, a “scientist”, a radio, an Idiot Box (TV, that is, the most widespread and least notorious “Time-Suck” in the world today), a religious authority, a book, even the Internet, although I believe the Internet to be, eventually, self-correcting; I eagerly await some correcting!
“Third, the more sure you are, the more likely it is that you’re flat wrong.”
Again, we will all correctly discern, on Judgment Day, whether we’ve been right or wrong all along. If you don’t like what a person does, eschew that person, excoriate that person if you wish. Unless that person directly causes you harm or places you at risk of harm, you have no right to impose your will on him.
“Fourth, none of this should need to be said at all.”
I write this, knowing and accepting that I’m doing my business no favor.
Most of us believe, and I concur, that there is a malaise pervasive in society today. Peggy Noonan recently wrote an article, published by OpinionJournal.com, called “A Separate Peace”, in which she discussed this malaise. I commend her article to you. As always, at risk of offending, I see myself as a physician, proffering a great, big hypodermic to a world that really doesn’t want a shot in the butt, thanks just the same.
It is high time for all of us to reflect on how we affect each other.