M13 Category

I thought that the “Drowning Child” analogy was a conflation of situations, and disingenuous.  One situation is an imminent threat to mortality that was not caused by society and only the individual witnessing has the power to prevent the child’s loss of life.  Starvation in entire societies is caused by a multitude of choices made by various Venn-diagram circles of humanity, and throwing your money at the problem 1) does not guarantee the prevention of death; and 2) does not even ensure that your money equals food in a child’s stomach.  Many governments of poor countries are corrupt and will steal donations right out of the mouths of the poor; this is one reason why their countries are poor to begin with.

On the other hand, I quite enjoyed Noam Chompsky’s video on drugs, especially his quip about sugar – the evil peddling of this addictive substance is my topic in my writing class this semester.

I found it necessary to remind myself to stop shaking my head as I watched the videos. This incessant SMH was for all the common sense (or what grandma used to term “human decency”) that we seem to have lost…or, maybe it was because we never truly had it.  Either way, I thought it best to discontinue that shaking (and mumbling in a low voice) before I was spotted and swiftly carted off.  Thoughts on two of the videos:

1. Ethical Dilemmas in the workplace.  This SMH moment was brought to you by “the Little Guy.”  I have worked with wonderful mentors and leaders and also with the truly heinous.  I have seen situations where corporations are allowed to act unethically to force someone out or make their employ miserable.  While it is easy to suggest or encourage leaving, the onus is then on the job seeker to “justify” his short tenure, why he was released, etc.  More often than not, the disgruntled employee feels “obligated” to reach a milestone (time on the job, project completion, etc.) just to make the next interview easier.
2. Drowning Child.  Gratefully, most situations are not moral “dilemmas” for me.  Having strong childhood influences and a great church family, often I know what I should do fairly quickly.  When stuck, I employ up to three tests (not necessarily in this order): 1) what would God prefer, 2) can I live with myself if I ___ and 3) what would my father say.  At my age, you know yourself well enough to know what will turn your stomach and what brings you joy.  And while I’m still evolving, I don’t find what’s “right” to be so complex an issue.