What is Ethical Responsibility
by:
David Rich &
Contributors 1776 BC
to 2019
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Business & Personal Ethics: I do not mean to get preachy here and I try my best to keep any specific religion out of this philosophy. Personally I feel religious belief should not be necessary for people to care about each other and live good ethical behavior. Ethics is a complex issue and should be taught in school from first grade up into their Senior year in different levels along the way, so they have a comprehensive understanding of the ideals and impact their actions will have on our society. I feel it can be broken down into a simple and undeniable logic, so I pose a few question and offer a some suggestions here to consider: What are good ethics? It is a word we are all familiar with, but do we really know what it means and why it should be so important to us? How does ethics relate to our lives in how we interact with those around us? Can you describe what you think 'ethics means? Please take a moment to try and verbalize this out loud, or better yet in writing on a note pad what these mean and define them before reading on, in as much detail as possible. If you are struggling with this then look it up. The Webster's Dictionary states it as body of moral principals or values. A moral precept or rule of conduct in accordance with standards for right conduct or practices, especially those of a profession. The branch of philosophy dealing with right and wrong and the morality of motives and ends. Of course these details may be debatable as to what we deem moral, depending on your personal philosophy and culture. Some people feel it is worth risking their life to chain themselves to a tree to keep from clear cutting forests, where others feel it is perfectly fine to cheat in business as long as they can be clever enough not to get caught (since everyone is doing it). To have cheated on one's spouse places their Love unknowingly at great health risk, as well as possibly causing permanent psychological damage to the surviving children, but we all know this sort of unethical conduct is all too common. Where does one draw the line in the sand? Do we no longer walk the Earth for risk of hurting a single insect that could be that preverbal butterfly that may some day change the world? This is not even considering how most of us are guilty of the damage we cause daily just driving a petroleum fuled car! I'm just as guilty myself. For this discussion sake; lets limit this to only how we interact and treat other people we come in contact with, since this seems to be such a huge problem. If we can agree that other people are just as valuable to the scheme of life as we are, and just because we might be inconvenienced that we cannot so easily live without them. Although, this is one of the toughest hurdles we face in this philosophical debate for some strange reason. Let me suggest a crazy notion that as a moral code or ideal we should not harm another's progress in life any more than we would cut off our own arm, no matter where they happen to reside or who their parents are. I know it's asking a lot, but can we agree to this and stop senseless wars (which means all war)? This would also mean you are not going to continue to be complicit in such by helping to finance these war machines. If you paid for a single bullets that are used to kill people; you are a conspirator to murder in the form of the federal taxes we pay each year. If we are all connected to the source then we are all connected to each other through that universal connection. Much in the way each cell in our body are all connected, yet separate. Does that make sense? Hopefully these cells in our body all work together in harmony towards a common goal and we do not suffer cancerous tissue, where just a small percentage of rogue cells can disrupt our life and even cause death. We should strive to think of this as a one world community if we have hope to survive our technological advancement time-line we are currently living. Yet this large one world body is terribly riddled with huge cancerous groups attacking other parts, because of a short sighted egotistic view that we are independent of the rest of this large body and have the right to our own personal agenda without regard to what the collective body as a whole needs to survive. That is why the 'smartest minds' see a global death as an inevitable result to this ugly scenario, since there is no way to force all parts of this body to mature and agree to work together, so they care about the whole as much as their personal survival as an ethical ideal. We here in America like to see ourselves as a moral leader, yet for some reason the rest of the world does not see it that way. We think it is just jealousy, but the truth is that America is actually the worst collective governmental group this world has ever seen. I have several points to prove this. We are responsible for the worst genocide in recorder history of our own Native population over the last 300 or so years. I understand it numbers in the 20,000,000 mark. You would not imagine this continent was so heavily populated by the Native Americans, yet it was. We had done that good of a job wiping them out. Our fir traders taught the Natives here that we value life so little that we were willing to kill them for scalps to make nice pretty bleached wigs for our English Noblemen. But our historian gave the Natives the bad rap for this heinous crime. They only started doing that to some of us as retribution for what we were doing to their people. Since then we have been no better behaved. I know you will say 'But that was not me who did that'. Again, if you are financing these monsterous criminals who are committing these horrible crimes of humanity you are their conspirator. They would have little if any power without our financial backing and support. Hell, we send off our young men and women to die, or at least be traumatized by what they have to experience in the name of patriotism, which is actually just corporate expansion. We do have a choice. We should be committed to stop these atrocities under penalty of death. It is a lot more worthy of a cause than saving a few trees. Your individual vote may not matter much, but if as many people who do not bother to vote were to rebel by withholding their funding, that would make a huge difference. What does the words 'Fair Trade' mean to you? Look into it! It is a huge issue we are are not facing, which is already biting us in the ass big time. Read my web page: Why USA will Die Soon. Who are the Real World Terrorists? as to the deadline that is approaching far sooner than you would imagine. |
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On a more local and tangible level: Where it comes to ethics in business and even in our personal life, there is a simple ideal that cannot be disputed: "unless we are willing to provide good honest service to those we deal with in our business and personal life, we have no right to even hope for any better from others, let alone expect it. Taking expect out of this equation". Whether we get it in return should not be a factor. I do not think you will come across a single person who could honestly say 'I do not mind living in a world of lies and deceit', so as a matter of absolute principal we all from our personal standpoint need to not add to that muck we see every day. I would like to think it is a simple matter of common sense, but the sad fact is we find this kind of simple expression of ethics not being discussed in the business world or even encouraged in our youth in school or at home. Even if it was taught to the youth, if the adult world around them is not setting a good example, what good could it do? Young people enter the business world and quickly find it is just a dog-eat-dog world out there. What hope could we have for a better future for us or our children this way? The movie 'Children of Men' touches on this subject where they lost hope. If you believe in reincarnation, what kind of world will we have to come back to if we have just selfishly squandered our resources this way and continued to set such terrible precedence? Why do we have such a narrow and insane view of all this? We all understand how planned obsolescence is standard operating procedure in most industry through out the world, yet that should be a serious crime, since it is nothing other than intentional fraud. Why do we accept this as OK business practice. They should be held accountable for their crimes, yet they are praised for becoming so wealthy from this deceit and being so cleaver. Make no mistake; there is a big difference between clever and wise. Seeking maximum profit for their Stockholders in the short term fiscal quarter no matter what the long term cost is far from wise, but we strive for success and promotion from such short sighted cleverness. Ethics?..... I find it absolutely amazing that so many of us find it admirable of those who are clever enough to take advantage of others in getting ahead in life! If these selfish people of the world had the magick of the Charmed Ones would they use that power for such dark black magick as they are right now? Instead of for the good of others, with little to no regard for personal gain? Does that make it right for an attractive woman to use her sexual prowess to her advantage over others, just because she can? And there is those other women who are jealous, which shows their intent if they could. What kind of selfishness and absolute madness possesses so many people to get what ever they can, no matter the cost to others? This world is spiraling into the abyss of hopelessness and despair. What will it take to save this world from self-annihilation? Only if each one of us gets the courage to read this and other inspiring text to make gradual changes in the way they live their way of life, we may have some hope. But if not, that means we have abandoned all hope and will have no future. Assuming you do not want to live in a world of liars, cheaters, and thieves, the least we can do is to not add more of it to our world in every aspect of what we say and do. This does not need to be any more complicated than; you must at the very least 'give to others' what you would hope to get from others, without regard to what we actually receive in return. Who of us want to be cheated and lied to? Yes, you may feel defeated and hopeless to change the world within your life time, but what can you hope for if you are not willing to do your part? Without the fear of impending doom, how can this world evolve and survive over the next millennia if we do not strive to do the best we can? Doing our part and setting a good example is the most important thing each of us can do to create this better world for the future for our children and their children. Let alone the hope to return to this planet for yet another life or two. We need to avoid getting depressed and bogged down by the futility that even if we provide ethical treatment to all those we interact with that we may not get it in return. If you are doing it for the right reasons, that should be of little to no concern (pay it forward). It very well may take several hundred years to have this wide spread through out the world to where you see it returning back to you. We need to place all our focus on doing the right thing now and setting that good example. We need to never loose our personal ethics, letting it fall once again down to the common standards of the world around us. If we are not doing our part to influence those around us, where will we be in a millennia from now?
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Humor Break 1 The Word 'Service' Defined: At one time in my life, I thought I had a handle on the meaning of the word 'service'. I thought "It's the act of doing things for other people". Then I heard these terms which reference the word 'SERVICE':
Then I became confused about the word "service." This is not what I thought "service" meant. Then I happened to overhear two farmers talking, where one of them talked about hiring a bull to "service" a few of his cows. BAM! It all came into perspective. They were using the other definition. Now I understand what all those 'service' agencies are really doing to us. I hope you now are as enlightened as I. |
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About Charity: Back in early 1990 I realized something when I was talking with an ambitious Christian contractor I was working for who told me that if his business does well and grows; he wanted to get into doing more charity work. I surprised him, saying that he has more faith in human nature than I did. I went on to say that the shame of it was how many needy individuals like my Sister-in-law (at that time) for example should be incredibly amazed that through the kindness of people’s hearts; our society had put together a comprehensive system that can provide for her in her unfortunate situation of having had these 3 illegitimate children. But Noooo! If she does not have her welfare check on time and to the penny, she is down at that office screaming her head off, like the world owes her a living. She has recently married her live-in boyfriend (of over a decade), but would not marry him until her boys were old enough to spend time in the pokie, because it would have interfered with her welfare money. Years later, when her boys finally got too big to cash-in on, she had to break-up my home by screwing with her mentally ill Sister for the welfare money she could score from our 3 Daughters. Many of these type of people look a gift horse in the mouth, as they say, and take advantage of people's sympathy and kindness every chance they can. I also told this contractor that charging more
money from his clients than he needed to, so that he could afford to
take the time off work and buy parts for this charity work he wanted
to do was unethical. It is robbing from the rich to give to the
poor. He should let his clients decide for themselves if they
want to give to charity or not. That was not for him to decide for them
through his deceit. I told him how I felt he should be honest
with his clients. Meaning how he should buy only good quality parts
that will last, install them with as much care as he can muster, and
charge reasonable rates. If he can maintain this throughout his
life, and not succumb to the pressures of this world becoming just as
greedy, he would be ahead of the game at the end of his time here.
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Our Living
an Ethical Life: From a personal example we strive to live by our words. (a) Going out of our way to help a person stranded on the side of the road. (b) We strive to be honorable in our business dealings, hence being honored with the Better Business Bureau's Business Integrity Award for 1998 and again in 1999. We maintain the highest reputation for our ethical standards going well beyond laws and codes. (c) We try to do well with recycling. (d) We try not to drive like frantic fools. I had not had a single moving violation or accident in over a decade. In fact, you could disconnect our horn, and we would not miss it. (e) We had both refrained from cheated in our first marriage, since the day we had first met them over the entire dozen+ years up to the final separation. Not so much as holding another's hand romantically. No matter how dishonest our Ex had been we remained honest and true. When the two of us got together, we were relieved to finally get a chance to be with an honorable partner. We have remained honest and true to each other since. (f) We actively promote monogamy or more importantly the mastering of relationship skills in a number unique ways. (g) We also work as Reiki Healers and have been involved in gentle birthing working as a Doula/Hypno-birther, and soon to be a trained Midwife. (h) We counsel and teach to help others work well together and live LOVE. (i) Most importantly we strive each day to set a good example. |
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Religious Influences on Ethics: I would have thought my personal ideals of ethical responsibilities had come largely from my Mormon up-bringing in Utah, but I have sadly found that few devout Mormon men can compare to my ideals of ethical responsibility and how they live it. I became jaded to Mormon Doctrine in my late teens (not hormone driven), and have fought to eradicate their blatant misogynistic teachings. A recent book titled: 'Journey of Souls' written by Michael Newton Ph.D. clearly explains how most organized religions are far from the mark of the universal truths of life and their understanding of the spirit realm. That book also helps give us a better understanding to the purpose of life.
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We're ticked off at the way you've treated California, and we've decided we're leaving. We intend to form our own country, and we're taking the other Blue States with us. In case you aren't aware, that includes Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and all the Northeast. We believe this split will be beneficial to the nation, and especially to the people of the new country of New California. To sum up briefly:
We get a bunch of happier families, inceeour aggregate divorce rate is 22 percent lower than the
Christian Coalition's,, so ouuget aa lotof single moms.. Please be aware that Nuevo California isro-choice and antiwar, and we're going to want all our citizens
back from Irthe Middle Eastt once. I With the Blue States in hand, we will havee: With the Red States, on the other hand, you will have to:
We get Seattle, Hawaii and Yosemite, thank you. Additionally, 38% of those in the Red
states believe Jonah was actually swallowed by a whale, By the way, we're taking the good pot too. You can have that dirt stank weed they grow in Mexico. Sincerely, the happy citizens of New California. |
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Our Global Ethics at Work: I met with a potential client (who will remain anonymous) back in 2002. I was asked to write up a bid for gutter work on his personal home when the following conversation spontaneously occurred, that was quite an eye opener for me. We got to talking, and he told me how he had just got back from spending the last month in China. I exclaimed "Really, what part of China"? “Oh, all over” He proudly reported. I retorted, “Wow, China is huge”. He explained: 'The company I work for is building new factories there in China. We manufacture electrical switches for small children’s toys to high voltage electrical circuits for industry. We have factories in Mexico, but it has become more expensive there than originally projected. Also the hostilities have grown to the point that I have to hire a body guard just to go down there to conduct business'.
He was telling
me all this,
"We
can't hire workers here in the States. They want $17.50 an hour
with benefits. Then turn around and sue us for Carpal Tunnel.
We are improving the way of life for these Chinese people by offering
triple the money they were making up in the hills. We are paying
them $47 a month, and give them 2 days off".
I wondered
how he could so proudly say this all to me with a smile on his face?
I got no indication he was putting me on. I can understand the
aspect of how he would need to report this to the company officials
and Stockholders that he works for, but does he really believe what
he is saying to be a positive aspect of his life that he can be proud
of? It is not hard to read between the lines of what he openly volunteered: (a) I am sure that you could buy a whole lot more with $47 US in China than you can here, but what that tells us is how our exchange rate with China is so horrible (around a 20 to 1 ratio), we are screwing the whole country! These workers will never be able to afford the TV sets they are making the switches for. Even a cheap TV for $100 would be out of their reach. I know this one company is not directly responsible for this terrible exchange rate, but it is clear they are plenty quick to milk it for all they can for as long as they can make it last. For example: if we were to exchange 900k tons of steel for 900k tons of steel, that is an equal and fair trade, aside the cost of transporting these goods. But if the exchange rate was off only 10% then we could get these 900k tons of steel, and send back 18k tons back and consider it paid in full. This would mean that we just stole 90,000 tons of steel from the Chinese. But in reality we could get that same 900k tons of steel from China, then send back only 45k ton of their steel and the debt is paid in full. That means we just stole 855k tons of steel daily, so to speak. Is there something wrong with this picture? (b) Also, is it that they would not sue this company for Carpal Tunnel illness because of some sort of higher ethics?? Or is it that the laws there are written so they cannot sue their employers? If so, you can be sure that this and many other foreign interests in China will financially support and lobby to the upholding those laws in the future as well. They must force these people to keep with tradition, right? (c) He could make the argument that; we cannot just drop kick these poor Chinese people into the 21st Century, like the lifestyle we have here in the USA. But from the example he just reported in Mexico, they have no intention of allowing the Chinese people to graduate their standard of living into these modern days (that is unless it some how fit in their profit margins). Those hostilities in Mexico are for a reason. They are clearly sick to death of the USA taking advantage of their people. Sick to the point of violence, since those business executives and the US government seem to turn a deaf ear to their pleas for fairness (does this make you think about why 9-11 happened? It should). This is just one clear example of how business is being done around the world. Or should I say how Big Business here is allowed to steal from other countries. When you look in the toy store; see if you can find a few items not made in China, and then think again of this story and the labor camps over there to bring us cheaper products. Our Big Business turns it’s deaf ear to their slaves complaints, or in other words their victim's needs. Then our Government also turns a deaf ear (clearly controlled by Big Business). Then our USA media will not give them a voice (since we all know who holds the purse strings there). What other avenue for conflict resolution do they have? They are screaming "Hey, stop taking advantage of us and hurting us like this"! Can you hear their cries for help? If you cannot, and are able to do something about it, we are destine to have another 9-11 sort of attack, or worse. We were ignorant to this issue until we saw it finally hit home with 9-11, after decades upon decades of our USA Big Business had been getting away with screwing those people for well over half a century. But after that huge demonstration they made, instead of starting to listen to their grief, the US Government did what they could to kick them in the teeth all the more! The same day it happened (9-11-01), this leader type dude, gets on the TV tube declaring "We're going to get the Bastards responsible"! Right after he said that, I was amazed to hear such immature reaction come out of the mouth of what should be the smartest person in the country. Beside the clear propaganda aspect
of this praying on the ignorant passions of our population, I would
think he should have advisors around him to explain what an immature
and stupid thing that was to say. The most fundamental and basic
elements of conflict resolution do not call for retaliation. If you
yank the tail of a dog and he bites you, that would be simple animalistic
retaliation. That may be all a dog is capable of. It is easy to simply dismiss any chance for a real resolution that would be too costly to our Big Business demons by demonizing the enemy in stead, calling them religious fanatics. But that still does not solve anything. Can you smell the flesh burning yet? |
Conflict
Resolution 101:
Lets say my
current wife is not a person prone to sporadic violence. Then one day
she was to haul off and smack me, it is not for me to react to that
pain and smack her back. I am to step back from this recent pain and
try to sort out what imperative message I was not listening to, where
she left to only a last resort. The need for violence to get my attention.
I would not solve anything in returning such violence, other than inflaming
the situation further and dissolving what little relationship we had
left. |
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Can You See What is Wrong with this Picture?: Besides our illustrious leader proclaiming that
same day (9-11-01) how we will get the
bastards responsible, we as a nation have shown the world our lack of
maturity in the dealing of this issue
(regardless
of the real issues involved). It clearly demonstrates that
we as a country have no intention to resolve issues with an inferior
country. We will seek to enslave any people we can. When China
rebels (and they will), whom will these
HUGE Corporations seek to enslave next? Trap aliens and put them into
work camps? You may feel apathy for the plight of these strangers, but this has come here to our home. People are already being arrested for not carrying their papers and showing them on demand, just like in movies about Germany during World War II. (To see other T-shirt designs like this click on these images) How is it that we can just decide we are more important that the population in the rest of the world? Beside the fact that we are getting away with this absurdity, is this at all ethical? Is there any way it could be made ethical? I think not. There will always be huge dissention in the world as long as a people seek to dominate and enslave others, no matter the reason or rationings. We saw it here with our Black Citizens rights, with Women’s rights, and now with Gay rights. But what about the rights of people in these other Nations? How is it that they have less value as human beings as the wonderful people of the USA, and should be killed if they get in our way of profiteering? A simplified example of the conflict of a republic versus a democracy is like an old Western. There is a shoot-out. If the Sheriff is doing his job, he will arrest the survivor. Give them a fair chance to build their defense and be judged by a jury of their peers. Although, if a relative of the non-survivor enflames the passion of the people in the tavern that night and the go off to storm the jail to lynch the survivor that night, the Sheriff has to go out and risk his life to defend the Republic (for which he stands) against this Democracy! Do you get the picture yet? No where in our pledge of allegiance does it mention this Democracy they keep telling us we are suppose to be. Will you find it in the Constitution of the United States of America? |
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What to Do: We need to learn to love all the people of this world (this is not a sexual reference), if not other life forms and the planet herself. We need to take a stand on these sorts of issues; looking into who these human rights violators are and what they have done and continue to do in efforts to enslave people and profiteer around the world, so we can vote better with our purchasing dollars. Take a look in the mirror, and spread the word of what ethical behavior is and means to you. A very basic science, that is as exact a science as math. Once we get our head out of the sand and see the world and what is happening for what it really is. We need to do the right thing, no matter the cost, to resolve these issues properly. It is not a matter of ‘buy American only’. Aren't we a one-world economy? Can we so easily live without our fellow Earth-mates? Should we want to live without them? On a personal level; Do these for better reasons than that of Karma kicking you in the teeth for not being good to others. We need to do it because we care about others as if they were our own children, with little regard to our personal advantage. If we are not ready to step up to the plate and set a good example, with little expectation that you will receive it in return, then when will things ever change for the better? This should not require organized religion to instill the fear of God in us in order to inspire these ideal. Simple common sense and logic should be all we need. Instead of thinking about our personal desires and needs, if we think of how our bodies consist of billions of individual cells that for the most part work in harmony towards a common goal we can survive a delicate balance against the harsh environment it has to combat. This world is a large body consisting of large groups of cells (people) who need to rely on the other large groups to survive. A delicate balance of the different, but crucial parts that make the whole. Would you think it so easy to just cut off an arm because it was bothering you? You might survive, but what if that part of the body even though not a vital organ, but it made it too difficult to acquire sustenance? Even though you do not want to see it; much of the world see us not as one of the critical appendages or organs any more, but a large cancerous group of cells that will destroy the whole if not removed and disposed of. A battle for survival rages on. It is not a pretty picture. Even if we are victorious in this fight, since the inevitable outcome will be the destruction of the whole. Including us. At the very least we will have exhausted our resources to fight this battle, and we will not survive the pollution of those actions. Nor would we deserve to. |
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Humor Break 3 What Should Happen if We Don't Evolve: To the citizens of the United States of America:
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A
list of the top 14 corporations w/documented human rights violations
A web site about the 'income tax law' that never was.
The great
fraud since 1913.
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