As a writer, I feel I’m always in a position to make ethical decisions.
Am I using this quote out of context? Am I too close to this source to write about her? Did I get both sides of the issue?
You have to think about these things when you write stories, especially about people. No one wants to be misquoted or misrepresented and sometimes that happens unintentionally (misspelling, corrupted file, accidentally strike on the computer keyboard). And, while it happens more often than we’d like to admit, it’s a matter of whether you had the right intention or not.
Meaning, did you try to do the right thing?
That’s been my mantra throughout my life. I always want to do the “right thing,” as defined, I guess, by my own standards. I assume everyone’s version of “right” may vary. Still, I think we all have a general sense of what’s right and what’s wrong.
But why does everything seem so easy to define from the outside — so black and white — but so messy gray when you’re the one involved in it?
Take, for example, your friend whose husband is cheating on her. To you, it may be an easy solution: divorce the bastard and find someone better. (Black-and-white) But to her, it’s more complicated than that. They share assets, maybe a child. She may be scared or insecure. She might really love him. (Messy gray.)
I was reading some tips to making ethical decisions from the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University this morning. (Yes, I’m not always on Facebook!) It was interesting to read what ethics is NOT.
It’s not the same as feelings. It’s not a religion. It’s not just about following the law. It’s not about following cultural norms. And it’s not a science.
So how can we make ethical decision?
“If, at the end of the day, can you say, ‘I got all the facts, not just the ones I agreed with’?” said Judy Nadler, a senior fellow in government ethics at the Marrkula Center to the New York Times last year. “Can you say you looked at all the options, not just the convenient ones? If I did all those things and answered them honestly, then I can say I did my very best.”
We are faced with ethical decisions all the time, some we just react to without thinking. Like Googling your new coworker or lying to your boss about why you have to leave work early today.
But what about the more complicated situations — like finding out your friend’s husband is cheating? What do you do?
I don’t have any answers. But I know this: It’s not about being perfect. It’s about striving to be the best person you can be. And whatever decision you make, you have to feel good about it.
Anyone faced this quandary?
