REGULAR COMMENTARIES TO ETHICS STUPID

WILL RETURN IN JULY...

After I've had a chance to read and refresh. 

Until then, BE GOOD!

Posted by Jim Lichtman | Comments

“Never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself.” - Confucius, early Chinese teacher-philosopher

One of the best (and most difficult to practice) definitions of the Golden Rule comes from former Hampton Honors College student Courtney Thompson.

It’s a short, but powerful essay on what it means to live what Pastor Rick Warren would call, a “purpose-driven life.” When I asked her what stood out about her essay after re-reading, she confided, “Why didn’t it dawn on me sooner?”

“‘Do unto others as you would have them to do unto you.’ These words have echoed in my mind since early childhood. Through the years, I have made serious attempts to follow the Golden Rule, endeavoring to set the pendulum of reciprocity in motion and striving to maintain its constant movement. Continuously, I struggled to extend a mutual kindness to others, usually commensurate with the kindness that I received. I always believed that I understood the full import of these words, until recently.

“In December, I visited Mombassa, Kenya, a country rich in land, culture, and tradition. The roads were filled with vendors, consumers, workers in transit, tourists, the poor, and the homeless. The first days, Hashim, the friend that I traveled to visit, gave willingly to many suffering from severe conditions of destitution and utter helplessness, often exchanging larger bills for easy-to-dispense change. After observing his daily routine of selflessly giving, I reflected upon the ideal symbolized in the counsel 'do unto others as you would have them to do unto you.' Before I could censor my thoughts, inwardly I questioned, 'But what about when others are unable to do unto you?' The answer came as Hashim’s willingness to give continued over the course of the remaining weeks. ‘You must give to the world more than the world gives to you.’ Indeed, this was the real essence represented by the Golden Rule.

“In that experience, I learned more than I had in a lifetime about the gift of giving. I have since accepted and faithfully practiced the true application of this principle in my life with one modification. Though the change is a single word, the difference is profound. I have resolved that for the rest of my life, not only will I do unto others; I will do unto others, unconditionally.”

Posted by Jim Lichtman | Comments

Manny Ramirez is gone, suspended for 50 regular season games, but should he be allowed to play in this year’s All-Star Game?

Ramirez’s suspension ends July 3. The All-Star Game is played on July 14th. Legally, Ramirez is eligible to play. 

Ethically?

New York Times ethicist, Randy Cohen writes “There are potent arguments against the use of these substances [steroids], invoking respect for the law, esteem for baseball’s history, regard for the players’ health and concern about poor role models for young fans. But to frame this problem as one of individual moral failure is neither persuasive nor apt to yield an effective solution.

“Sports evolve, and technology plays its part,” Cohen says. “In modern, professional basketball... footwear [is] so high-tech that James Naismith, the game’s inventor, would barely recognize those things on LeBron James’s feet as shoes.”

True, Randy, but all players have access to the same high-tech shoes as long as they comply with league standards. It’s the same with baseball shoes, bats, balls, gloves, etc. 

“It is difficult,” Cohen continues, “to see a profound moral distinction between pharmaceutical science and other equally sophisticated technologies that yield even more significant improvements.

“In some sports, the most advanced approaches to training and diet apply biological research and computer analysis. As a consequence, Roger Bannister’s record in breaking the four-minute mile is now Hicham El Guerrouj’s 3:43 mile... More extreme still is Tiger Woods’s Lasik surgery, a deliberate and successful attempt to improve his vision to 20/15 — better than normal — a change he himself says has improved his game. If laser surgery, why not steroids?”

I have no doubt that Roger Bannister availed himself of the best diet and training techniques of his day, but he still made the personal commitment, not to mention putting in substantial hard work to reach his best. If Tiger Woods uses Lasik surgery to improve his eyesight and it’s okay with the PGA, great. By all accounts, Woods still puts in the time and hard work to get where he’s at.

Steroids are a different matter. 

While Lasik surgery does carry some risks, the health risks associated with muscle-producing steroids are considerable. According to Hazelden, the drug and alcohol treatment center, long-term steroid use decreases HDL (good) cholesterol, increases LDL (bad) cholesterol, and can cause jaundice, high blood pressure, kidney tumors, liver tumors and cancer.

“In adolescents, steroid abuse can trick the body into ‘thinking’ that it has completed puberty. As a result, bones stop developing. If teenagers take steroids before their adolescent growth spurt, they may stay at a reduced height for the rest of their lives.

“Steroid effects reach into the realm of thought and mood as well. Abusers sometimes report that they feel invincible. But that emotional high can swing to paranoia, irritability, depression, impaired judgment, and manic behavior that turns violent.”

Clearly, this is not the kind of message anyone wants kids to pick up. And, like it or not, athletes role model behavior for kids. Further, because steroids are banned, it’s also cheating and the message that sends is simpler: do whatever is necessary to win.

So here’s my solution to the question of whether Manny Ramirez should play in the All-Star Game. Yes, he should be permitted to play. He’s served his time in the box and the rules allow for his return to the game including the All-Star Game. 

Now, here’s what I think Manny could do.

On Friday, July 3rd, Manny Ramirez rejoins the Dodgers. However, in a scheduled press conference before the game, Ramirez makes the following statement: 

“I am grateful for the generous support baseball fans have shown me over the years, and greatly appreciate their votes to play in this year’s All-Star Game. However, this year I will step aside in favor of a more deserving player who has not only earned the respect and admiration of fans, but has, through his behavior, demonstrated the best traits of a professional baseball player.”

Now wouldn’t that be a great message to send us all?

Posted by Jim Lichtman | Comments

And now for another “priceless” Broadway story:

“Mim Pollock was at a performance of South Pacific last month,” the Wall Street Journal article (June 7) begins, “when an audience member took off a shoe and propped her foot up on a rail in front of her.

“The woman, complaining of an injured knee, said she couldn't sit comfortably any other way, recalls Ms. Pollock, chief usher at New York's Vivian Beaumont Theater.  Other patrons were not amused. The offenders' toes ‘were practically in their nose,’ says Ms. Pollock. ‘And her feet smelled.’”

I’ve been to Broadway shows numerous times over the last several years and I continue to be surprised at the increasing lack of plain, ordinary manners that some individuals demonstrate not only to other audience members but towards the hardworking cast and crew who, in most cases, are forced to tolerate the rude behavior.

“...Patti LuPone lit up gossip blogs when she broke character in Gypsy to scream at an audience member taking pictures... ‘I had just had 10 months of pointing out to ushers texting, pointing out to ushers videoing, pointing out to ushers somebody on a phone,’ she says. ‘I just freaked.’

“During a Saturday matinee of the Holocaust drama Irena's Vow, a man walked in late and called up to actress Tovah Feldshuh to halt her monologue until he got settled. ‘He shouted, ‘Can you please wait a second?’ and then continued on toward his seat,’ recalls Nick Ahlers, a science teacher from Newark, N.J., who was in the audience. He says the actress complied.

“Ms. Feldshuh says... she doesn't recall the incident, which she says may be evidence of the Zen attitude she's cultivated onstage. ‘I have no negative energy about it to even remember,’ she says.”

With respect and admiration to Ms. Feldshuh for her self-restraint, the behavior of late has gotten so outrageous that maybe the best way to deal with it is to have the actors embarrass the offender by stopping the play and pointing them out.

“Last month, ushers and security guards at Hair began patrolling the balcony and aisles during the musical's famous nude scene because so many people were snapping pictures – despite explicit warnings not to do so.

“One night, actor Will Swenson, who plays a hippie named Berger, took a device from a person in the front row and threw it across the stage. ‘I just couldn't believe the gall of this woman who was videotaping me in my face,’ he says. A crew member deleted the video and returned the camera phone to its owner at intermission, he says.”

“What is with people who think they’re in their own living rooms?” Steve Loucks said who was sitting near one offender.

But the capper has to go to this priceless story from David Hyde Pierce.

“During Curtains, for which he won the Tony for best actor in a musical in 2007, Pierce witnessed a family passing a bucket of chicken down the front row.

“‘You want to take the bucket and stick it on their head,’ he says.”

The good news:  “...audiences aren't shy about playing police. Ben Admonius, a 26-year-old New Yorker, says that when a cell phone went off near him at The Norman Conquests, the crowd's reaction was louder than the ring. ‘It was like lions jumping on a rabbit,’ he says.”

Some people need reminders.  Others just need to go.

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The 'God Gap' - June 5
The Face of Fraud? - June 4
Man on the Moon - June 3
"Mediocre Cheese" - June 1