Lack of Ethics Always Catches Up

I spent my 24th straight Memorial Day weekend in Dayton, Ohio at a huge youth soccer tournament. This year for the most part I was mentoring and assessing the performance of many younger referees. There are so many people stories when you gather thousands together in a competitive atmosphere.

But, I live in Ohio. In the middle of Ohio State University Buckeye fanatic territory. I’m not a fan–of OSU or college football in general–but you can’t escape it. And you can’t escape the big news of the weekend. Ultra successful football coach Jim Tressell has resigned in the face of potential harsh sanctions from the athletic “governing body” the NCAA. Why? What we know right now (more probably coming) is that he knew that his star quarterback and several other stars were violating NCAA rules. He knew and he kept quiet. With them, he had almost a national championship year, a Big Ten conference championship, and the potential for further fame, glory and money.

It’s tough being a person. It’s tough being ethical. All of us face issues every day. It’s often around sex, money or power. I appreciate the irony of the politician or religious leader who has been preaching “values” only to be undone by personal weakness. No one is immune.

We’ve lived through many years of blaming it on the environment. That’s when I parted ways with “liberals”–when they embraced the idea of blaming things on something or someone else. Yes, parents can screw up a kid. But many people grow up to be productive, ethical people despite a rough childhood.

Seth Godin is a marketing guru. But he hits on some pithy observations. Here’s a quote from a recent blog post:

A door is not responsible if it swings and hits you in the nose. Neither is the hand of the guy who punched you.

Philosphers and lawyers talk about agency. Responsibility comes with the capacity to act in the world. If you can decide, if you can act, you have agency.Life without agency would be a nightmare. Trapped in a box, unable to do anything by choice, nothing but a puppet…

Why then, do organizations and individuals struggle so intently to avoid the responsibility that comes with agency? “It’s not my job, my boss won’t let me, there’s a federal regulation, we’re prohibited, it’s our supplier, that’s our policy…”

It’s not something you can turn on or off. Either you have the capacity to act in the world. Or you don’t.

You are an agent. Responsible for your decisions and actions. Take that responsibility and behave according to your faith. I think every one of Jesus’ encounters with people dealt with some measure of taking responsibility and behaving ethically. Do likewise–even if it is darn hard.

This entry was posted on May 31, 2011 at 7:10 am and is filed under Ethics, Living. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Faith Venture