How to Avoid Ethical Fading
May 14, 2022
SUMMARY
Ethical fading refers to that situations when ethical aspects of a decision disappear from view. Sometimes, it is more than fading because people get blinded in self-deception and really make unethical decisions. Regardless of whether it is fading or blindness, both can lead to wrong decisions. I have experienced making wrong decisions myself when I acted on what my myopic eyes perceived. I give you 9 tips to avoid ethical fading.
- Be prepared for ethical challenges.
- Take courage.
- Plan if-then scenarios.
- Be humble.
- Think of ethics to avoid evil and do good as a lifelong pursuit.
- Be vocal about your ethical choices.
- Surround yourself with honest confidants.
- Rely on personal safeguards like enough hours of sleep, less stress, etc.
- Consider looking at decision situations from the eyes of the powerless.
INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES
TRANSCRIPT
Hey friends, we are going to talk about how to avoid ethical fading. Ethical fading refers to that situations when ethical aspects of a decision disappear from view. Sometimes, it is more than fading, because people get blinded in self-deception and really make unethical decisions.
Regardless of whether it is fading or blindness, both can lead to wrong decisions.
I recall when I was doing a community service in a far flung area, south of Manila. I forgot my eyeglasses and I was near-sighted which means I could see things close to me clearly or normally and distant objects appear blurry. But “close to me” should be here in front of my eyes. Once I just turned to my right and I was sitting down and at the seat next to me, I thought it was a handbag that someone forgot, I looked closer and realized it was a cat.
Another time, I saw something fell at my feet, I thought it was a mini-coin purse without strap or anything, it’s as if it fell down, landed flat on the floor. I stooped down to pick it up and felt it was not a solid coin purse, but a soft slimy texture. I realized it was ice cream that fell off its cone. It’s good I could not see other people also, I would have seen how horrified they were at the sight of a lady stooping down to pick up a melting ice cream.
So one thing was I had a blurred vision and another thing I deceived myself by acting on two things that I thought I saw: the handbag which was really a cat sitting with its paws tucked under its tummy, the little coin purse which was really ice cream that fell off its cone.
The vision which I that time I did not accept as blurred gave me a reason for deciding to act, and my action was hilarious, if not icky.
This is similar to ethical fading when a person engages in self-deception thinking there is no ethical consideration in the decision to be made, or if there is an ethical issue, it’s got to be something positive and not negative. In other words, the decision to be made is framed as if there is nothing ethical in the picture or it is hidden or blurred out from view or viewed in a positive way.
For example, an accountant who will make a net loss appear like a net income could think that he is simply tweaking the numbers so that the employees can get some bonuses in these difficult times. The dishonesty is framed as a charitable act.
Let’s give another example. Take the case of a reporter who lacked the time to verify the data from the field. So he writes a fake news and justifies it saying that in the current proliferation of fake news, his story would not even get noticed. He can get away with it easily.
A similar example is the one that prompted me to tackle this topic today. A young online troll revealed in a radio program interview that although he earned P2.5 million annual income disseminating disinformation, replying stupid things to the followers of Vice President Leni Robredo, although he said he voted for Leni knowing she is the better candidate. He said “a job is a job.” Why he is revealing himself now after the elections is not clear.
That is actually a frightening scenario for parents out there. You might have children who suddenly have a lot of money, they are in front of the computer all day, they don’t seem to be happy as they are justifying their work as peddler of lies by saying it is simply a job.
Will online trolling and disinformation stop now? Perhaps not, if that is a well-paying job. You know among the listeners you might have people who are angry or crying why could this happen, the years of disinformation and revising of history. But it is possible that among the listeners, there are those who are motivated to find out more about that job, how can I get into that, these are the people whose ethics have failed.
But we are not going to all go out of the country, will we? We will try to fix the problems now. And this livestream is part of that, to help you if you feel strong enough now to fight the temptations of not working for the good, or literally to be bad earning a living.
First it is important to be prepared for ethical challenges. Toughen yourself when in this society, the cursing and the swearing is already considered normal if not a polite behavior becoming of government officials, when lies are truths dependent on how much you are earning to propagate the lies, and all these frightening scenarios.
Take courage, If you are disheartened by the recent events. it’s not yet the end of the world. We have shown in the days leading up to the elections that we can be diligent going house to house, we can be magnanimous and generous giving up free food, we can be smart coming up with creative flyers, etc. We got so high in patriotism and went so low with the election results. No, be brave, God’s power is never diminished by the evil forces.
I would even suggest that if you have not watched The Kingmaker which is the movie about Mrs Imelda Marcos, watch it and see that we have survived the times of 70,000 people were incarcerated, 34,000 were tortured, and more than 3,200 were killed, and we are still standing as a nation. We still live in a nation of brave heroes even if sometimes the outside world can be confused with our dispositions and the people we vote back in power. We are still standing.
You could go into if-then planning, what if you got offered P2.5 million to reply stupid remarks in Facebook, come up with false stories everyday, how would you reject the tempting offer.
What if your spouse finds out about the offer and tells you to accept it, how would you deal with that when the entire family seems to have given up on good values for the price of P2.5 million.
Do you have the experience to live a sober life or you got used to posting your travels in social media and always wanting to be rich and famous. So if you think you have those disproportionate desires for wealth that can lead you to accept an online troll job, what do you plan now to train yourself and your family in temperance and sobriety. You could try commuting and walking under the heat of the sun, and not using your car every day. You could avoid complaining when the food is not to your liking, or choosing first to eat the food that you don’t like and giving up the food that you like.
You could try leaving the house with little cash and no credit cards, and avoid buying anything that is not essential. If you really need more money, then you could read up on online businesses which will demand little capital. online trolling is also online business but I would expect you will read up on decent work where you put your face out there and you try to be a dignified, hardworking, respectful person as much as possible.
Another tip is be humble, we are not saints, no one is a proclaimed saint while still living here on earth. Recognize that we are capable of doing wrong if we are not vigilant, if don’t examine our conscience every day or simply reflect or look inward on our actions regularly similar to the post-mortem meetings done by learning organizations. Don’t be so proud as to say you can fight all evils in the world.
In this regard, think of ethics as not only avoiding the bad but also pursuing the good. know that forming a good character that enables you to make ethical decisions is a lifelong pursuit.
Growing old doesn’t mean growing good (the more popular quote is growing old doesn’t mean growing up like in terms of being mature) but I would like to emphasize living an ethical life until you grow old. It needs intentional awareness, self-knowledge, and mindfulness. I read somewhere that
"Any wine can turn to vinegar if oxygen gets inside the bottle and reacts with the alcohol. This happens when a cork is defective, of poor quality, or when wine is stored upright instead of on its side." (From Indiana Public Media) Be good wine all the way until you are consumed.
That will mean that now you have to be vigilant what enters the head. In the 2016 US elections, a study found that "11 percent of people aged 65 and older shared fake news stories on Facebook." Another research found out that "American Facebook users over 65 shared nearly seven times as many articles from fake news domains as those aged between 18 and 29." Be careful with what you let in your mind. Be discerning, be prudent or else you might grow old like acidic vinegar and not good wine.
Another tip is to be vocal about your ethical choices. Facebook or other social media apps could be instruments for disinformation, but it could also be showcase of ethical conduct. Narrate those ethical choices as interesting read or stories. {If you are not good in writing, neither am I, You can use Hemingway app which can help you write and evaluate your writing as you type. }
But social media is not the only avenue to be vocal about your choices. It can be face to face replies or short messaging. If someone invites you to lunch, you could be sincere to say, okay I will proceed after the noontime Mass finishes. Don’t be afraid to be judged as a show-off if that is not the case, if it is really your pious practice to go to the noontime Mass, you are just telling the truth that you won’t arrive at noon as you are attending Holy Mass. Or don’t hide the fact that after office you will pass by a company chapel to hear confessions, why not go public that you go to weekly confession if you do? What is wrong with that?
I remember I was walking with a Spanish friend in Anaheim in California, We came from Mass and we were walking to the nearest hotel to get to a phone to get a taxi. There was no uber then. So it was actually a long walk to the nearest hotel so we started praying the rosary and I noticed that her rosary beads are very visible like hanging from her hand so I called her attention why she is not discreet about it. She said we are in America, where people are free to do whatever they like – good deeds or not so good deeds- in public. Okay I said sounds logical. These days no one could accuse you of being holier-than-thou when they approve of every influencer being authentic or vulnerable with all their faults.
Another example I read in an article that in an environment where there are temptations to fraud, a girl wrote a quote under her email signature that says “Success without honor is worse than fraud.” For that girl it was a deterrent to being asked online to engage in unethical behavior. So think about it, what would be your moral signaling for people not to even tempt you with an unethical invitation?
Then, get honest advisers. Surround yourself with people who will help you instead of confirm the mistaken notions about your self-worth. Who are they? Recall who among the people you sought advice in that past were brave to tell you yes, you have not done well in that thing you are telling me about.
Be wary of those people who would always avoid telling you the truth, advising you to forget everything, Forget those advisers who cannot point to you what is right and what is wrong. You need good teachers and advisers, you don’t need parrots repeating back to you what you want to hear. we need an honest confidant We all have weak or blind spots and they can tell us in our face look: you might not want to hear this but you really made a bad decision or you made a real mess there.
Next, don’t discount the importance of personal safeguards like good quality sleep, less stress, fewer overtimes or good quality work not interrupted constantly by distractions like using social media. These days, examine yourself does using Facebook makes you less depressed more optimistic, etc. If not, why not stop using Facebook, do some exercise, sleep 8 hours daily and see if it helps being sad about national events, arguing with people in your comments, unfriending a number of people, getting annoyed in your mind even if you do not verbalize it, etc.
Lastly, because being ethical involves looking at the consequences of your actions on other people, I was moved by the story of advertising executive Roy Spence in an article by Prof Heffernan on willful blindness. Roy refused to work for Enron even if many would rush to get hired by this very successful, formerly successful accounting and consulting firm. Roy reflected how he saw what others missed. Obviously he was talking post Enron Scandal. He concluded that a lifetime of seeing through the eyes of the powerless gave him different perspectives. He talked about the times that he would bring his sick sister to school. The sister had cystic fibrosis and used a wheelchair. He said he could see people pitying them, but they brother and sister actually had a wonderful relationship. His question to himself was: if they’re missing so much about us, what I am missing about them? This anecdote made the author Margaret Heffernan to conclude that willful blindness that leads to ethical fading and unethical behavior could be widespread but it is not irresistible, a little bit of thinking will help and more on thinking from the eyes of the powerless.
Those are my 9 tips for you to avoid ethical fading. Let me know in the comments below what you found most helpful.
