Ethics Newsline®

For more information, see this week’s Research Report.

by Rushworth M. Kidder

If a thing is wrong, is it ever right to do it?

Sure, for a short time.

If that sounds like a stand-up comedy routine, consider Laverne’s story. A well-educated woman with an engineering background, Laverne (not her real name) works for the federal government in Washington, analyzing threats to the nation’s security. Several years ago, she also agreed to mentor a young woman newly appointed to her department — a task she looked forward to doing.

But the mentor-mentee relationship never quite gelled. The young woman, while perfectly civil, seemed disinterested. Laverne offered various ways to help, but there was little reciprocity. Puzzled by the non-response, but wanting to be a responsible mentor, she kept hoping for a breakthrough.

Early one Monday morning, Laverne told me, it happened. She had just arrived at work when her mentee asked if they could talk. “Oh, good!” Laverne thought to herself, “finally!” What followed, however, was nothing she could have expected.

The young woman told her that a cousin had arrived unexpectedly at her apartment on Sunday morning and asked to spend the night. The reason: on Saturday he’d killed a man, and fled in fright.

The killing sounded to the young woman like an act of self-defense, though she wasn’t sure. The only thing she knew for certain was that he was a fugitive from justice, and that by the time she left for work that morning he was gone. Her question to Laverne: What should she do?

It was clear to Laverne that her mentee was facing a lot of wrongdoing. It was wrong for the cousin to kill and then flee the scene. And it was wrong for her to harbor a felon. The young woman knew that her position as a federal employee required her to report any crimes she knew had been committed. While there were strong ties between her and her cousin, the horrifying truth of the situation trumped any claim of familial loyalty. Ethically, as well as legally, this was a slam-dunk case of right versus wrong.

But what about Laverne? She found herself facing a right-versus-right dilemma, not about whether to report — she knew that had to happen — but about how to work through the situation with her mentee. Laverne told me her own tendency as an engineer was to see everything, including ethics, as black and white. So her impulse within the first minute of hearing about the killing was to reach for the phone, report the case, and make sure justice got done.

But Laverne also explained that her mother was a counselor. As a child, she said, it drove her nuts when she would go to her mother with a problem and be asked to consider all of the angles, decide what options she had, and work out the best resolution. Yet on that Monday morning she heard herself asking those very questions of her mentee — first, of course, to be sure the cousin’s story wasn’t fabricated, and then to help determine the best way forward. They talked for several hours, she said, before they jointly called the authorities.

In this justice-versus-mercy dilemma, was this the right outcome? Had Laverne reported the case within the first minutes, she might have saved the police several crucial hours. But to her mentee, that might have seemed an exceptionally hard-hearted act — a betrayal, in fact, of the mentor-mentee relationship that, despite its undeveloped state, had been promised by the department. In the young woman’s mind, this was not a serial killer who needed to be stopped instantly before he struck again. This was a confused, frightened young man who needed to be found and returned.

But how much did either of them know about the young man? If every hour made the case more challenging for the police, how long could Laverne justify a delay before she, too, became complicit in harboring a felon? If, as the wise adage puts it, justice delayed is justice denied, when does delay become denial? That Monday morning in Laverne’s office, what was going on — true compassion or mere procrastination?

The question is not unimportant. In so many ranges of our ethical experience, these two can look alike. Ethics is not only about whether something must be done; it’s about how and when it gets done. Clearly, it’s wrong to leave the right thing undone. We sometimes forget, however, that the right thing done in the wrong way can become the wrong thing.

What happened? The mentee felt well treated, and afterwards seemed to move forward in her work without difficulty. Laverne continued as her mentor until the younger woman was transferred to another department. But while the relationship improved, the two never became close. Laverne hasn’t been in touch with her since she left.

Had Laverne the engineer instantly picked up the phone, would her mentee have wanted to continue working for that agency? Maybe not. But had Laverne the counselor dragged on the conversation into the evening, would that have produced a powerfully wrong lesson about indecision? Maybe so.

Conclusion: Others’ right-versus-wrong situations can throw us into tough ethical dilemmas. Just because something’s wrong doesn’t excuse us from thinking hard about doing right.

©2008 Institute for Global Ethics

Questions or comments? Write to newsline@globalethics.org.

Wrapping up our call for New Year’s moral resolutions came two suggestions: one for more ethical insight into the treatment of animals, and the other for a far-sighted approach to ethical challenges. As to the latter suggestion, the author, a psychiatrist, writes, “Humans are hardwired in our brains to respond to immediate danger…. There is no comparable natural tendency to be concerned with danger many years in the future. Resolution: I will keep writing, speaking, and advocating to cool down global warming.”

– Compiled by Ethics Newsline® editor Carl Hausman

“We thank the attorneys general for a thoughtful and constructive conversation on Internet safety. This is an industrywide challenge, and we must all work together to create a safer Internet.”

– MySpace chief security officer Hemanshu Nigam in a written statement announcing an initiative to make the popular social networking safer for children who could be targets of online sexual predators. The move follows negotiations between the company and officials from 49 states, reports the Washington Post.

Source: Washington Post, Jan. 14.

For more information, see: Related Newsline Commentary, Dec. 3, 2007 — Related Newsline story, Dec. 3, 2007 — Related Newsline Commentary, July 10, 2006.

Among the ripples from subprime collapse: outrage over severance pay for head of troubled mortgage lender, new accreditation for mortgage lenders who complete ethics training, and plummeting stocks overseas linked to subprime meltdown

NEW YORK
The subprime mortgage collapse, which continues to be one of the most pressing economic and ethical issues in the new year, was again the focus of financial news last week.

Late in the week, it was revealed that authorities in New York State were launching an investigation into whether Wall Street banks withheld information on risks posed by investments linked to subprime loans.

The New York Times reports that although studies commissioned by the banks raised questions about highly risky loans that were used as the basis for complex investment vehicles, the banks did not disclose that information to credit rating agencies or investors.

In related news, a deal appeared near involving the acquisition of Countrywide Financial, a huge mortgage lender rocked by defaults in its many subprime loans, by Bank of America, reports the Financial Times.

But that deal raised protests from some who say that Countrywide’s founder, Angelo Mozilo, will receive $115 million in severance-related pay, along with free rides on the company jet and dues at a country club until 2011, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The deal benefits “a failed executive — a failed and overpaid chief executive — who has driven his company to the brink of bankruptcy,” Daniel Pedrotty, director of the office of investment for the AFL-CIO, told the Times. “I think shareholders are going to be especially outraged if he walks away with another pay-for-failure package.”

Mozilo and other Countrywide officials did not immediately return phone calls from the Times.

Mortgage brokers, who have come under increasing fire for their role in the subprime meltdown, last week mounted an effort to reassure the public of their integrity. A report carried by the San Francisco Chronicle notes that the National Association of Mortgage Brokers, which represents about 20 percent of brokers nationwide, has created an updated credential.

The association will grant brokers a seal of approval if they meet the association’s code of ethics, attend classes on ethics and other topics, and pass a criminal background check.

The move comes as various U.S. states move to crack down on lending practices. Last week, Missouri state legislators said they will file a bill to prohibit lenders from making loans to people with little chance of repaying, reports the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Missouri’s bill is modeled after similar legislation in Minnesota and Illinois.

As the week drew to a close, the subprime crisis continued to echo worldwide, with Asian stocks falling sharply on fears that losses from subprime loans will widen, Bloomberg reported.

Subprime loans — essentially, loans made to individuals with weak credit or low income or both — reached a crisis point in recent months after falling home prices drained the collateral that would have guaranteed payback in the event of default.

Compounding the problem is the fact that subprime mortgages were sold and resold to various investors, often being sliced up and repackaged into a variety of complex vehicles that are traded on world markets.

Sources: New York Times, Jan. 12 — Los Angeles Times, Jan. 11 — St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Jan. 11 — Bloomberg, Jan. 11 — Financial Times, Jan. 11 — San Francisco Chronicle, Jan. 6.

For more information, see: Related Newsline story, Dec. 11, 2007 — Related Newsline story, Nov. 5, 2007 — Related Newsline story, Sep. 17, 2007 — Related Newsline story, Sep. 4, 2007 — Related Newsline Commentary, Aug. 27, 2007.

U.N. currently pursuing 250 cases; Chinese officials to get anti-graft comic book; journalist opines that corruption is at root of Kenyan violence

VARIOUS DATELINES

Corruption charges continued to be highlighted by the world press last week. Among the major stories:

• The United Nation’s internal auditing office said it was probing about 250 corruption cases, including allegations of sexual abuse by peacekeepers and various cases of financial irregularity. The Reuters news agency reports that Inga-Britt Ahlenius, head of the U.N. Office of Internal Oversight Services, said that 80 of the current cases revolve around charges of sexual exploitation and abuse in countries such as Haiti and Liberia. Also under investigation are about $600 million worth of contracts suspected to be linked with fraud.
• China’s Communist party will release an anti-graft comic book during the upcoming Chinese New Year holidays as a guide to helping local officials steer clear of corruption, according to the Agence France-Presse. As Newsline reported last week, the government has issued “ten taboos” in a written code of ethics for officials in an effort to stanch an explosion of graft. The pocket-sized comic book contains illustrated lessons about the policies and will be handed out first in the central province of Henan.
• Endemic political corruption is at the root of Kenya’s recent outbreak of violence, according to an opinion piece carried by the International Herald Tribune. Simon Roughneed, who worked in Kenya as a journalist and for an African development organization, contends that the current rulers of Kenya, who retained power in a recent disputed election, have created “concentrated power — and access to wealth and patronage — in a cabal of cronies.” Protests in Kenya were motivated, Roughneed concludes, by the prospect of another “opaque” government “coming on the back of an almost-certainly rigged election.” On Monday, McClatchy Newspaper reports that an exit poll “carried out on behalf of a U.S. government-backed foundation” recorded a resounding defeat for Kenya’s current president, Mwai Kibaki, who has claimed victory in the disputed election.

Sources: McClatchy Newspaper, Jan. 14 — Reuters, Jan. 11 — AFP, Jan. 11 — International Herald Tribune, Jan. 11.

For more information, see: Related Newsline Commentary, Jan. 8 — Related Newsline story, Jan. 8 — Related Newsline story, Jan. 8 — Related Newsline story, Jan. 1– Related Newsline story, Dec. 18, 2007.

Questions include whether parents should be allowed to vaccinate children and whether drug offenders should be forced to take the inoculation

HOUSTON
A possible vaccine against cocaine addition has raised a variety of ethics quandaries.

The vaccine, currently in clinical trials, stimulates the immune system to attack cocaine in the user’s system, permanently blunting its euphoric effects, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

According to the Houston Chronicle, the cocaine vaccine, being developed at Baylor University in Houston, is part of a constellation of new drugs that may help people kick addictions to methamphetamines and even nicotine.

But as an analysis by Toronto Star heath reporter Megan Ogilvie points out that while anti-addiction vaccines hold potential benefit, they come laden with a host of ethics dilemmas.

“Should parents be allowed to inoculate their children against cocaine and nicotine?” she writes.

“Should convicted drug offenders have to be vaccinated against their illegal habit before entering prison? Should a vaccine be forced upon people, whether a person with mental illness or a pregnant mother, to protect their health?”

Also up for debate are the moral implications of mass inoculations against addictions that may only plague a fraction of the population. TIME magazine quotes Tom Murray, president and CEO of the Hastings Center, a bioethics research institute, as saying that possible side effects complicate the equation.

“When we balance the risk of side effects against an addict’s freedom from the grip of cocaine, uncommon risks are easily justifiable,” Murray said. “But when we vaccinate tens of millions of people, most of whom will never get nearer to cocaine than the traces on the $20 bill in their pocket, even a one-in-million risk may be too high.”

Sources: Toronto Star, Jan. 10 — TIME, Jan. 9 — Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Jan. 2 — Houston Chronicle, Jan. 1.

For more information, see: Related Newsline story, Oct. 30, 2006 — Related Newsline story, July 3, 2006 — Related Newsline story, May 15, 2006 — Related Newsline story, Oct. 11, 2005 — Related Newsline story, June 27, 2005.

There’s another development in the quest for an ‘ethical’ stem cell; DNA collection causes concern in Britain and U.S. as rights of individuals are balanced against protection of society

VARIOUS DATELINES
Recent advances in cell sciences continue to create profound ethics issues. Among the top items of the week:

• An advance in the fast-moving science of human embryonic research has left observers wondering again if technological progress can erase some of the ethics problems connected to the technology. The Washington Post reports that the latest development in the search for an “ethical stem cell” is a technique that can cultivate a stem cell from an embryo without destroying it. But whether the method will qualify for federal funding, which cannot be given to researchers who harm embryos, remains an open question. A spokeswoman for the National Institutes of Health said that while the cells used in the research appear not to be damaged, it is impossible to know for sure if they are in some way harmed. A similar development announced recently, thought to provide “ethical” stem cells for research, has not yet cleared all hurdles in its development because it requires the use of viruses that contaminate the cells.
• In Britain, a group of experts is raising ethics questions about a controversial DNA database that holds lifelong records of anyone who has been arrested, even if they were cleared of a crime. The London Daily Mail reports that the Human Genetics Commission, a panel of experts appointed by the government, last week called for a public inquiry, which is expected to be critical of the database. The group also is thought to be skeptical about plans to expand the list of crimes for which DNA can be taken. Even the most minor offenses, such as littering, would allow the police to take a DNA swab if proposed legislation is enacted.
• Maryland governor Martin O’Malley announced last week that he will ask for legislation to expand DNA sampling for anyone arrested for violent crimes and burglaries, the Baltimore Sun reports. O’Malley argues that it is necessary to expand the current DNA sampling policy, which currently allows police to compel samples only from convicted felons or sex offenders convicted of any category of crime, in order to solve old cases and stop serial crimes. The Sun notes, though, that similar legislation has failed before, thwarted by opposition from civil libertarians and defense lawyers.

Sources: London Daily Mail, Jan. 11 — Baltimore Sun, Jan. 11 — Washington Post, Jan. 11.

For more information, see: Related Newsline story, Dec. 3, 2007 — Related Newsline story, Nov. 19, 2007 — Related Newsline story, Oct. 15, 2007 — Related Newsline story, Sep. 17, 2007.

The question has become a matter of public debate in what some feel should be a private matter

LOS ANGELES
The very public troubles of singer Britney Spears escalated into an ugly and equally visible moral dilemma last week as a television pop psychologist spoke publicly about a visit he made to Spears during her recent hospital stay.

According to a report from the BBC, a spokeswoman for Spears’s mother said that television personality Dr. Phil McGraw, who counsels troubled people on his highly rated television show, was not supposed to speak publicly about the visit.

Spears was hospitalized following bizarre behavior when police were called to her home to intervene in a custody dispute over her two sons.

McGraw publicly commented that Spears was in “dire need” of intervention and, according to the Associated Press, he had planned to do an entire show on Spears’s breakdown.

Mental health professionals criticized McGraw for showing up at Spears’s hospital room shortly before her discharge and speaking publicly about the visit.

The family complained that even though “Dr. Phil” was technically not her doctor, he should have kept the conversation and details of the encounter confidential, according to a report from MTV.

But as the AP reported, McGraw had none of it, firing back on an entertainment program: “Somebody needs to step up and get this young woman into some quality care — and I do not apologize one whit, not one second, for trying to make that happen,” he said.

McGraw also contended that it was Britney Spears’s parents who originally concocted the idea of appearing on his show, according to the New York Post.

The case has sparked vigorous debate within the media, including a recent opinion piece from Roy Peter Clark, senior scholar at the Poynter Institute, a media think tank.

“Is there a way to cover the Britney Spears story responsibly?” Clark wrote. “I’m no Puritan when it comes to gossip, and I’ve grown up reading the tabloids, but there is clearly a danger zone, when life and health are at stake, when the best thing the press can do is back off. That time for Spears is probably now. Avoiding the daily soap opera does not require journalists to abstain from critical and analytical pieces on celebrity, addiction, gender, and mental illness. And perhaps the troubles of a particular celebrity might be an occasion to turn the camera away to the less intriguing but more important cases of mental illness in our own communities.”

Sources: Poynter.org, Jan. 11 — New York Post, Jan. 11 — AP, Jan. 10 — BBC, Jan. 10 — MTV, Jan. 10.

For more information, see: Related Newsline story, Jan. 8 — Related Newsline Commentary, Feb. 26, 2007 — Related Newsline story, Aug. 27, 2007 — Related Newsline story, Aug. 6, 2007.

Although Italian soccer has been plagued by scandal, the pope says it can teach life lessons; the Vatican reportedly is focusing on moral development in youth teams

THE VATICAN
Responding to one of the more recent strings of sports-ethics scandals, Pope Benedict XVI last week met with representatives of Italy’s soccer leagues, saying the sport can be used to teach children moral lessons.

While Italian soccer, generally called football in Europe, has been pummeled by corruption, match-fixing scandals, and unruly spectators, the pope said the sport celebrated positive virtues as well, according to a report from CNN.

The pontiff said that lessons in ethics and morality could be taken from the sport, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

“I’d like the game of football to be a vehicle for the education of the values of honesty, solidarity, and fraternity, especially among younger generations,” the Pope said.

A spokesman for a prominent Italian soccer league told the Times of London that the league’s work with youth teams helped to foster the values cited by the pope.

And one of the world’s largest soccer websites, Goal.com, which carries versions in 16 languages, was quick to note that Pope Benedict XVI had previously gone on record as saying soccer “should increasingly become a tool for the teaching of life’s ethical and spiritual values.”

Also, the pope recently endorsed a local team’s effort to turn itself into a “beacon of morality” by promoting fair play in a family atmosphere.

Sources: CNN, Jam. 11 — Sydney Morning Herald, Jan. 11 — Goal.com, Jan. 10 — Times of London, Jan. 9.

For more information, see: Related Newsline story, Jan. 1 — Related Newsline story, Dec. 18, 2007 — Related Newsline story, Oct. 30, 2006 — Related Newsline story, Oct. 2, 2006 — Related Newsline story, July 17, 2006.

New law will crack down on anyone who provides a program that can be used to hack, but hackers hired by companies to test vulnerabilities say they may be swept up, too

LONDON
New anti-hacking laws in the United Kingdom are putting “ethical hackers” at risk, according to some who say the practice of using experts, some of whom are reformed malicious hackers, is necessary to maintain computer security.

London-based publication Management Consultancy says legislation designed to crack down on Internet hacking tools could penalize reputable companies who test and probe computer security at the behest of the companies who own the computers.

According to an analysis from the technology network ZDNet, much of the problem is centered on the fact that the software tools themselves are, figuratively, ethically conflicted: They can be used for both malicious and benign purposes.

While the law states that prosecutors should factor in the intent of the person providing programs that could be used for hacking, ZDNet also notes that the decision to prosecute rests on the likelihood that the program could be used for malicious purposes.

Another dilemma, notes the U.K. Register, is that the good/evil distinctions between some programs are subtle.

USA Today reports that on a worldwide basis, ethical hackers, sometimes called “White Hats,” are in hot demand because losses from malicious hacking run in the millions, and, in the United States, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires internal data controls for publicly traded companies.

The new U.K. law is not expected to go into effect until May.

Sources: Computing UK, Jan. 10 — Management Consultancy, Jan. 10 — USA Today, Jan. 9 — ZDNet, Jan. 3 — Register, Jan. 2.

For more information, see: Related Newsline story, Apr. 2, 2007 — Related Newsline story, Dec. 18, 2006 — Related Newsline story, Aug. 7, 2006 — Related Newsline story, Oct. 11, 2005 — Related Newsline story, Mar. 14, 2005.

Wall Street Journal profiles how firms have recovered from embarrassment

NEW YORK
One of the fastest-growing types of business consulting centers on what companies are beginning to recognize as their biggest asset: their reputation.

Wall Street Journal reporter George Anders writes that reputation consultants analyze what has gone wrong at a company, recommend what should be fixed, and then validate their results with outside experts.

Sometimes, according to consultants interviewed by the Journal, the only way to fix a reputation problem is to get rid of the executives who created it.

The piece profiles reputation-recovery efforts at Tyco, a firm left in tatters after former CEO Dennis Kozlowski was ousted in 2002 amid fraud allegations.

Source: Wall Street Journal, Jan. 11.

For more information, see: Related Newsline story, Dec. 18, 2007 — Related Newsline story, Oct. 1, 2007 — Related Newsline story, Sep. 24, 2007 — Related Newsline story, Sep. 17, 2007 — Related Newsline story, July 30, 2007.

Poll finds public judging political candidates by their perceived character, not their position on controversial issues

From Harris Interactive:

“Political commentators and journalists often use the phrase ‘moral values’ to mean the issues of importance to some conservatives and members of the ‘Christian Right,’ issues such as abortion, gay rights, same-sex marriage and stem cell research. In fact, when the public uses the phrase, only a few people are referring to these issues. Most people who say that moral values are very important to them in deciding how to vote (46% of all adults) say that what they mean are the characters of the candidates — such as honesty, integrity, trustworthiness and their likelihood of ‘doing the right thing’.

“Using the phrase as the public understands it, moral values are important to most people (85%) when deciding whom to vote for, and are ‘very important’ to fully 46 percent of the public.

“Republicans (63%) are much more likely than Democrats (37%) or Independents (38%) to believe that moral values are very important in their choice of candidates — a finding that is consistent with the common assumption that ‘values voters’ tend to be an important part of the Republican base. Unsurprisingly, Conservatives (64%) are also more likely than Moderates (41%) or Liberals (33%) to believe moral values are very important criteria for their voting decisions….

“Of all the people who say moral values are very important in deciding how to vote, less than a third (30%) are referring to the candidates’ positions on issues, with by far the largest number (14%) referring to abortion. In addition, they mention gay rights (3%), that marriage is between a man and woman (3%) and gay marriage (3%). A few, but only a very few, mention homosexuality (1%), and stem cell research (1%).

“The greatest majority (78%) of these voters mentions personal characteristics of the candidates including their honesty (28%), integrity (11%), ethical values (8%), and someone who does the right thing (8%), is trustworthy (7%), truthful (6%) or keeps his/her word (6%).

“However it is not quite as clear cut as these numbers. Some, but not many, of these ‘moral values voters’ mention personal characteristics associated with the Christian Right such as ‘Christian/or believes in the Bible’ (6%), their religious views (5%), belief in God or Christ (4%), or the 10 Commandments (2%). Overall, however, it is very clear that when most people talk about the importance of moral values they are not referring to the agenda of the Christian Right….

“These findings show that pollsters, journalists and commentators must be very careful not to assume that voters who feel strongly about ‘moral values’ are primarily concerned with issues such as abortion, homosexuality, gay marriage, stem cell research, gun control or any of the other issues often associated with the Christian Right or the Conservative base of the Republican party….

“In 2004 many commentators assumed wrongly that voters who said moral values influenced their votes were referring to these issues, and as a result some pundits greatly overestimated their impact on the election….”

For the full press release from Harris Interactive, Jan. 9, click here.

“The more things a man is ashamed of, the more respectable he is.”

– George Bernard Shaw (Anglo-Irish author and playwright, 1856-1950)