The Practice of Ethics

BlueRibbon Ethics Report

2009-10-29T10:16:00.000-07:00

Exposes Insider Excess at Highest Levels of Diplomacy

A 2004 United Nations ethics survey highlights the enormity of the ethical breaches and problems internationally by showing a trickle down mentality on a global scale. Institutionalized ethics mediocrity potentially infects nearly every other organization in the world. The UN staff, one that includes well over a hundred fifty thousand workers worldwide, finds a majority admitting to UN ethics researchers random acts of unethical behavior; A behavior that exists at every level, from the lowest to the highest.

The ethics report notes that United Nations employees justify their unethical behavior because they mimic the actions of supervisors all the way up the chain to the diplomatic level. The Iraqi Food For Oil program and the scandal that accompanied it came to light in 2005. It had, on investigation, wormed its way into every nook and cranny of the UN leadership. Singularly, it is perhaps the most striking example of the UN's moral bankruptcy. To know that this exists among those in an organization that are supposed to exemplify the best of ethical values the world has to offer, is an abysmal indictment of the character of those entrusted with such responsibility.

Is this the message our academies and organizations send to students, world citizens, and our communities - that it is OK to be unethical to get ahead, accomplish a mission, to win at any cost? The majority of UN staffers justify their "ethics as it suits them" conduct on the premise that they see the example of their leaders, managers, and supervisors embracing unethical behavior "all the time" to gain from it personally or collectively, so why not them? This cancer does not affect just the UN, or for that matter the much-maligned American corporate world, but every organization regardless of origin, everywhere. No one is immune. Anyone can randomly be infected.

Author: Dr. Fred DiUlus, Founder and Executive Director, Center for Ethics in Free Enterprise

Character Flaws of Liberals and Conservatives

2007-12-01T11:32:00.000-08:00

You are against capital punishment and support abortion on demand, or you support RIGHT to LIFE and endorse the state's right to execute criminals.

You believe businesses create oppression and governments create prosperity, or you believe businesses create individual opportunity and governments stifle growth through regulation.

You believe guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens are more of a threat and danger to society than nuclear weapons technology in the hands of third world governments, or you believe all citizens have a right to own guns and a third world country's nuclear arming capability should be destroyed.

You believe terrorists should have the same rights as US citizens and not tortured under any circumstances because they are protected by the Geneva Convention for war combatants, or you believe all terrorists are scum-buckets and deserve no consideration under the Geneva Convention rules for enemy combatants and therefore should be tortured if necessary to save the aggrieved nation and its citizens from random acts of terrorism. In other words, 'the ends justify the means.'

You believe global warming is caused by humans out of control, or you believe that global temperatures are affected by cyclical changes in the earth's climate.

You believe that being identified as male or female are artificial roles while being identified as heterosexual, homosexual, transvestite, or vampires are more natural self identifiers, or you believe anything other than a heterosexual male and female preference is a disease that should be treated and can be cured by counseling and abstinence.

You believe the AIDS virus is spread by a lack of federal funding and education regarding the deadly effects on individuals, or you believe AIDS is spread by sexually promiscuous individuals who do not respect themselves nor those that they infect.

You believe a teacher who teaches fourth graders how to read is qualified to teach the same kids sex education, or you believe that today's fourth grade teacher is rarely qualified to teach fourth graders, let alone teach them sex education.

You believe hunters don't care about nature and are environment destroying Neanderthals, or you believe that animal activists have never been outside a city, know little or nothing about conservation management and rarely leave their own rodent infested concrete canyons.

You believe that self-esteem is more important than actually doing something good to earn it, or you believe that doing something good is more important and the absolute prelude to earning individual self-esteem.

You believe that Mel Gibson spent $25 million of his own money to make 'The Passion of the Christ' for financial gain and is a Jew hating drunk or you believe he made the most significant cinematic contribution to Christianity and society in the history of movie making and is humanly flawed like the rest of us.

You believe the NRA is bad because it supports certain parts of the Constitution while the ACLU is good because it supports certain parts of the Constitution, or you believe the ACLU is bad because it does not support certain parts of the Constitution while the NRA is good because of it supports certain parts of the Constitution.

You believe that taxes are too low and should be raised and that ATM fees are too high, or you believe there should be lower taxes and that ATM fees are too high.

You believe that Michael Moore and Jane Fonda are more important to American history than Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Edison, and Alexander Graham Bell, or you believe that Michael Moore and Jane Fonda are American traitors and that the greatest American hero of the 20th century was Ronald Reagan.

You believe standardized tests are racially biased and that racial quotas and set-asides are not, or you believe that racial quotas and set-asides are racially biased and that standardized tests determine the best individual for whatever is being tested.

You believe that the only reason socialism hasn't worked anywhere tried in the 20th century and beyond is because the right people haven't been in charge, or you believe all socialists are anti-American and want nothing more than to create an American nanny society where everyone is compelled to live off the state and off the favors of those they elect

You believe conservatives never tell the truth and belong in jail or you believe liberals never tell the truth and belong in jail. and political liars and sex offenders should never get out of jail let alone ever occupy the White House.

You believe the phrase "Merry Christmas" should be replaced by Happy Holiday greetings and Manger sites expunged from communities as illegal, or you believe Manger scenes should be nationally institutionalized and employees and citizens free to wish, at will, everyone a "Merry Christmas" while "Happy Holidays" remains as just another form of greeting.

You believe that political party funding by foreigners is in the best interest of the United States and its international image, or you believe that Republican and Democratic fund raising from any foreign individual, government, business, or agency is illegal and an act of treason.

You believe that these character messages are part of a vast, right wing conspiracy to take over the government in a bloodless coup, or you believe these character phrases are part of a vast, left wing secret Manchurian candidate type conspiracy in order to take over the government in a bloodless coup.

You finally realize that the only common ground between right and left is ATM fees.

The Poltics of Truth Telling

2007-10-22T05:30:00.000-07:00

Every wonder why people have a tendency to lie at the most inappropriate times?

Some would say it is human nature.

Other's would say it is the product of the times. Or better yet,

It's their nature.

Most would say it is sometimes better to tell a lie than to hurt someones feelings - spare them the hurt or the truth that goes with it.

But, why is it that the recent pack of politicos now roaming the halls of the United States Congress have little or no regard for the truth? Why is it that candidates for high political office - you know - the presidency - have little remorse telling us the most interesting and boldface lies?

There seems to be no end to this either. All candidates and the ones they left behind in Washington seem to think that "spinning" the truth or "cultivating" the lie to make it appear the "truth" is how you get elected.

History will show that this little honeymoon of where you can say what you want, when you want, and wherever you want is about to come to an end.

Why is it that becoming a politician is a now career goal and one of the most, if not the most, distrusted lines of work today? It's right up there with the media according to the latest student polls conducted by CEFE, the Center for Ethics in Free Enterprise, an 11 year old think tank that specializes in ethics and entrepreneurship education in market driven economic systems.

Who is going to be the next president of the USA? Hopefully it will be a candidate that does not want to embarrass the USA or its citizens by telling the most lies to get elected. Hopefully it will be a candidate of conviction, character, and devotion to God and country. Hopefully, it will be a REAL American, not driven by polls, but one capable of standing by their convictions for the greater good of the country regardless of the latest Harris Poll.

For those old enough to remember, there was a time when the US Congress stood as one on foreign policy and allowed themselves only the latitude and luxury to bicker over domestic policy. Were that the case today, the war in Iraq would have been over and our troops would be coming home.

There is such a cesspool of hate that permeates the Halls of Congress today. The place needs to be flushed out and a new breed of politician needs to come in; one that cares about the country rather than themselves. It's time the holders of high office owned up to, and cared about, the country's greater good and not their own.

We can hope.