Quite literally, these are turbulent times.
A very windy political campaign was, for a while, put in the background by hurricanes Gustav and Ike.
The much maligned media deserves to be commended for its reportage, especially the 24-hour coverage by CNN and MSNBC.
And while I’m handing out praise, cheers for the federal and state agencies that did such a good job of tracking, warning, evacuating, rescuing, and cleaning up before, during, and after the storms. Apparently, lots of people learned a lesson from the shameful shortcomings surrounding Katrina.
Unfortunately, we can’t say the same for those in charge of some major financial institutions or the people who were supposed to watch and regulate them.
The staggering recklessness of the top executives of iconic institutions like Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Merrill Lynch, Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, and AIG is almost incomprehensible, as is the ineffectual oversight of federal agencies.
Obviously, smart is not the same thing as wise. High IQs, advanced degrees, and big titles offer no shelter from man-made hurricanes of imprudence and shortsightedness.
It’s not unethical to be stupid, but it is to be irresponsible.
Jeers also to the corporate and governmental irresponsibility that caused the bailouts and bankruptcies that will cost trillions of dollars, drain public coffers, and decimate personal investment portfolios.
It will take much longer to clean up the mess on Wall Street than it will to clean up the streets of all the storm-torn towns.
The question is, will anyone learn a lesson from this?
Cheaters Pay a Heavy,
Demeaning Price
While I was on a radio call-in show talking about cheating, a listener I’ll call Stan mocked my concern. He cheated to get into college, he said. He cheated in college to get a job. And now he occasionally cheats on his job to get ahead. In fact, he concluded, cheating is such an important life skill that parents ought to teach their kids how to do it.
Evidence is mounting that lots of people share Stan’s amoral pragmatism. Because they define success and happiness in terms of getting what they want when they want it, ethics seems irrational. After all, in a world where cheaters so often prosper, why should anyone give up the benefits of dishonesty?
Well, for one thing, the Stans of the world have no idea the price they’re paying for the little they’re getting. A life without principles is demeaning and self-defeating. The Stans of the world are cheated as often as they deceive others. What’s more, they victimize themselves. As they scrape and struggle to fill their lives, they give up their chance to lead fulfilling lives.
The happiest people I know are those who find purpose and meaning pursuing a grander vision of a good life measured in terms of worthiness, not net worth. Virtue is not a tactic; it’s a life philosophy.
We paint the self-portrait we call our character by our values and actions. We can choose to render that likeness in the pale watercolors of shallow successes and short-lived pleasures or in the deep, rich oils of honor, spirituality, peace of mind, and self-respect.
The enduring impact of our choices is not what we get, but what we become.
Michael Josephson is founder and president of the Westside-based, nonprofit Josephson Institute of Ethics. See charactercounts.org.
