Can the Stimulus Package Stimulate Our Ethics?

The biggest challenge facing President Obama and the Congress is not engaging the clutch that will put our economy into gear, but rather engaging the heart and spirit of Americans in putting the stimulus package to work.

Already we are hearing of behind-the-scenes maneuvering by individuals, companies and local governments to put themselves in position to take advantage of the various incentives to advance their own needs. Homeowners who are current with their mortgages are complaining that those who aren't are getting help. A local county has already figured out how to use stimulus money to pay itself back for something it did two years ago. Corporations are scrambling to reinvent themselves to grab up as many stimulus dollars as they can.

The drive to fulfill self-interests will surely outweigh the intentions of creating something for the greater good, unless we begin asking questions; and that is the stuff of ethics.

Does it serve the common good for me to apply for mortgage relief when I really don't need it?
Does it serve the common good for us to simply refill county coffers rather than create new opportunities for employment?
Does it serve the common good to jump from provision of one set of products and services to another just because there is money there?

I know I'm not smart enough to ask all the questions that need to be asked. And I know the questions I have asked are much more complicated than I have presented. But I am smart enough to know that unless we ask the questions and discuss the answers publicly, we will likely miss the very opportunities President Obama and the Congress are trying to create.

On Being an Environment Steward

“Paper or plastic?” That question opened great debates in the last decade on our personal responsibility for the environment. Technology has since changed the equation, but we are still faced daily with decisions that affect the stewardship of the resources we have. What can the rallying cry be today? How can we raise awareness of the environmental issues involved in our everyday decisions? What will gas prices have to be before Americans begin to seriously conserve fuel? What species will disappear before we take responsibility for our planet?

Repeat this: Starting with me, stewardship starts with me. I will not wait any longer to make a difference.

On Making Assumptions – Check the Facts/Motives

There’s an old saying about the word “assume.” Suffice it to say, making assumptions often results in misunderstandings. Assuming we know someone else’s motives destroys any chance of getting to know and trust one another. Building an ethical environment demands open dialogue based on authenticity. We can’t know what people are thinking and feeling unless we ask them. So ask.

Repeat this: Starting with me, the only assumption that is okay is that of assuming I don’t know others’ motives. I will ask directly.

The Blessings of Receiving

Common wisdom says, "It's better to give than to receive." I agree, but receiving can be a blessing to you and all those around you. Most of us are not very good at receiving, and so, we rob others of the joy of giving. Look around and note how others give of themselves. At work, maybe it's a little thing like always cleaning up in the morning, or anticipating your needs before you have to ask. Now, simply say “thank you.” Make it clear that you are blessed by them. Repeat this: Starting with me, receiving will be just as blessed as giving. I will let others feel valuable by accepting their gifts. For more tips and information, visit www.swimstartingwithme.com.

The Ethics of Everyday Decisions - Election Ads

First off, there is no perfect candidate. Having said that, what are the ethics around picking a candidate? Are there ethics involved in listening to election ads?

The ads would have us believe it to be a clear case of good against evil. At this stage in the election, ethics lies not so much in the candidate you choose, but in the decision-making process you engage in as you listen to the ads, sound bites, debates, etc.

Consider these thoughts:

1. By definition, an election ad is biased. Don't believe everything you read or hear. Check out the facts through several sources - unbiased ones if you can find them.
2. Election ads are marketing and advertising rolled into one package. Their purpose is to create a need in the minds of the listener and pitch that candidate as the answer to the need. Stop and think. What is hype? What emotions are they trying to draw out? Do you really want what the ads suggest you want? And if so, is this really the candidate to deliver it?
3. Election ads are often focused on a position - that is, an either/or, right/wrong view of an issue. But whose right or wrong? Don't allow the ad writers to tell you what is right or wrong, rather, think about the issue for yourself. Examine the values you hold and decide where you come down on the issue. What are your interests, based on your beliefs? You may find that rather than an issue being either/or, it is neither/nor.
4. Similarly, ads are often focused on a single issue. Any one particular group may be tempted to accept or reject a candidate based on a single issue - like taxes, abortion, defense, etc. But ask yourself if that really matches your total values system. If a candidate promises no increased taxes, how does that square with your value about education or health care?
5. Finally, as the election gets closer, the ads tend to change into either attacks or defenses. The closer we get to having to decide about the issues, the less the issues are openly examined and debated. Look past the ads to voting records, character, affiliations, etc.

Election ads raise all sorts of ethical dilemmas. This web log is not meant to prescribe the right answer, but rather to get you to ask the right questions. Weigh the differing, and even competing values that are presented and make decisions for action based on what you hold dear. Ethics is about making informed choices based on the values you and others believe in.

Scriptural insights: "One witness is not enough to convict a man accused of any crime or offense he may have committed. A matter mush be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses." Deuteronomy 19:15

"Choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom." Acts 6:3

The Ethics of Everyday Decisions - Cash or Credit?

The latest Federal Reserve statistics report a 9.75% increase in credit card debt for the month of May, 2007. An article in the July 10, 2007 St. Paul Pioneer Press had this quote:

David Wyss, chief economist at Standard & Poor's in New York, said some of the surge in credit-card debt reflects the fact that it is getting harder to get home-equity loans with banks tightening up on standards and home values not soaring as they did during the housing boom.

What are the ethical considerations of the decisions we make several times a day on whether to put something on the credit card or not? Here are some thoughts to help define our values in a number of areas. Remember, this web log is not meant to prescribe the right answer, but rather to get you to ask the right questions. Weigh the differing, and even competing values you hold and make decisions for action based on what you hold dear. Ethics is about making informed choices based on the values you and others believe in.

1. Spending what we don't have
2. Borrowing against the future to meet today's needs and wants
3. Determining the difference between "need" vs. "want"
4. Paying more than what something is worth (through interest)
5. Placing ourselves in bondage to the banks
6. Immediate vs. delayed gratification

I'm sure there are others, too, but ponder what you believe in these areas and then ask yourself if your behavior around credit matches up with those beliefs.

Scriptural Insight: The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is a servant to the lender...Do not be a [person] who strikes hands in pledge or puts up security for debts; if you lack the means to pay, your very bed will be snatched from under you. Proverbs 22:7; 26-27

The Ethics of Everyday Decisions - Watering the Lawn

This is the continuation of a series encouraging an examination of everyday decisions from a moral standpoint. How do our everyday actions help or harm ourselves and others? Think about it. For those interested, there is a Scriptural insight relating to the everyday decision, from a Christian standpoint. I welcome responses from those who might be able to offer similar insights from the Koran or other sacred writings. Over the next few months, watch for postings on health decisions, work decisions, environmental decisions, relationship decisions, and...who knows what else?

This blog series is for the purpose of raising up the moral issues involved in everyday decision making. So what about living in a townhome development or in a municipality whose laws require lawns to be watered and cared for? Even in such a prescribed situation, there are ethical decisions to be made.

What are some of the conflicting values among which decisions have to be made?

1. Respect for the law
2. Protecting the scarce resource of water
3. Being fair to immediate neighbors
4. Being fair to neighbors living up or downstream in the watershed
5. Protecting shrinking city green spaces
6. Use of our own leisure time

While these are clearly not all the issues, you can see the dilemmas that present themselves. Ethics is about making informed choices based on the values you and others hold dear. As in this case, there are almost always conflicting values. Which is more important, the beauty of a city lot or the water supply of a municipality downstream? Which is right, obeying the law or protecting a natural resource? What are the tradeoffs? Can one use less water by mulching around the plants in the lawn, or changing the slope of the yard? How does that affect resources such as income which may be scarce enough to barely afford food? Does one simply accept a law, or get involved with the legislative process to change it to more closely align with one's values?

Neither the questions nor the answers are easy, but not asking and not trying to answer is simply unacceptable. Wrestle with these questions. Raise the issues in neighborhood meetings and e-mail or write your legislators.

The ethics of everyday decisions are just that - everyday decisions. Respond to this post with how you have made your decision.

Scriptural Insight: "I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees...Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun...Now all has been heard;
here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil." - Ecclesiastes 2:5,6,11; 12:13-14