the phoenix
Morality
and Ethics
Those who know me well will be aware of my doggedness when it comes
to issues of morality and ethics. Both in business and one’s personal life.
Some would say that my doggedness verges on the morbid ranting of a
Pollyanna seeking lunatic, but I do sincerely believe that society could be
close to a utopian paradise if the whole world subscribed to morality.
M
y morality
juices really
got flowing in
late August after I read
an opinion piece by
Tony Leon in the Sunday
Times. In this article Leon
quotes Upton Sinclair, “it
is difficult to get a man
to understand something
when his salary depends
on his not understanding
it.” So true!
He was talking about
our minister of police
Nkosinathi Nhleko, who
has been handed a
poisoned chalice by his
boss. Poor old Nhleko
has to determine if his boss should repay
any of the money spent on upgrading
his personal palace. A classic case of
damned if you do, and damned if you
don’t.
The outcome, according to Sinclair’s
quote, is pretty predictable. But is it as
cut and dried as that? Maybe Nhleko’s
ethics are based on sound morality, and
that he knows the universally accepted
difference between good and bad?
Of course, morality can differ according
to philosophy, religion, culture, or values,
but I don’t think there is much difference
when it comes to theft or fraud. Theft is
theft, and fraud is fraud. Simple as that!
And who knows, maybe Nhleko’s morality
“our government …
teaches the whole
people by its example.
If the government
becomes the lawbreaker,
it breeds contempt for
the law; it invites every
man to become a law
until itself; it invites
anarchy.” Scary stuff for
South Africa; but let us
take this quote down
a notch and apply it to
business, or publishers
and editors. We all have
a duty to condemn bad
behaviour, no matter
who is committing the
offence.
is so strong that he will decide that his
boss should “pay back the money.” Pigs
have also been known to fly.
And we all have a duty to have respect for
the law, and respect for common decency.
Some pass the test. Some fail.
But who am I to decide what morality is, if I
do not condemn it across the board? I can
only condemn the behaviour of government
if I apply the same rules to my business,
my colleagues, my friends, relatives, etc.
And this applies to everyone who makes
a moral judgement, and particularly the
members of the fourth estate. This begs
the question, “are we living in glass houses
when we throw moral stones?” and another
question to those who are ambivalent in
their own lives, “who is your Zuma?”
Our institutions, whether it is the public
prosecutor, or a cabinet minister, or an
organisation representing the media, or
chartered accountants, or plumbers, or
street walkers, you name it, all bear this
responsibility.
It all depends on men
and women passing the
Leon ends his article with another pithy
quote, from American jurist Louis Brandeis,
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| words in action
2
october 2014
test!!!!!!!!!!!!
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