“The times, they are a-changing,” sang Bob Dylan. As the times change, so do ethical challenges. And you may have noticed that changes are accelerating at an alarming rate! In some ways, are children are not as affected as their parents, until they become parents themselves. After all, they are raised in what is their parents’ new normal, but their only normal.
World renowned futurist and author of “The Singularity is Near” Ray Kurzweil sees an exponential increase in the rate of change. He suggests we will see 20,000 years of change in the next century alone, based on a continuing pace of acceleration. Scary stuff!
As a kid, I fantasized about who cool it would be if everyone had a phone with them at all times, likely influenced by the capabilities of Dick Tracy’s watch. Three weeks ago, I bought my first Apple Watch. Now, not only do I have a phone on me that can speak to anyone in the world for free, it also monitors my heart rate, blood oxygen and blood sugar! I haven’t even mentioned how smartphones can help us with directions, photography, exercise, and so much more. What will our phones, apps, watches, fridges and cars do for use 20 years from now?
With all this change comes ethical challenges. How will privacy be protected? Will mental health be challenged? Will truth be more difficult to find given all the sources, many of which cannot be trusted? How fast to we allow our children to be introduced to technology, especially smartphones?
However, there are base ethical principles that should never change...
and your children should know and understand them. Here are seven ethical ideas that are explained simply enough for your kids to understand:
Honesty - reliably sharing good and bad news, and performing alone as you would being supervised, even if it’s painful.
Fairness - Life is not fair, but people should be. Treat others as you would want to be treated.
Integrity - keeping promises and simply doing what you say you are going to do, honestly and fairly (see above).
Compassion - understanding with kindness the needs, sensitivities, and values of others.
Respect - interacting with others with compassion and fairness (see above),
Responsibility - performing to completion, any task for which you are expected to do.
Leadership - being an example of ethical and responsible behavior to and for those you influence.
A current example
Now I’d like to apply these basic ethical principles to a current controversial topic, the bailout of student loans. When students get a loan for school, they sign a contract stating the guidelines for that loan to be repaid. If not repaid, many ethical principles are broken. I am against this bailout for the ethical reasons stated above.
The first ethical guideline is ‘integrity’ which includes the ethics of ‘honesty’ and ‘fairness’. Students are ‘responsible’ for those loans, like it or not. Those loans must be paid some way, if not by the borrower, then by the citizens who pay taxes. This is not respectful to many others. First, to those who repaid their loans in the past. Second, to the taxpayers who have to pick up students’ burden. Last, to those hard-working people who paid off loans to build a business, buy tools, or attendedtrade schools through borrowing.
It was reported on a Sunday morning show that 50% of the citizenry of the US is for this student loan bailout. No doubt many of these people have outstanding student loans. That doesn’t make their favoritism for this policy ethical. In fact, they are selling ethics for financial gain, a quandary no doubt.
I paid off my student loans, some of which were not for school, but to help my family. Likewise, many students take out loans for reasons other than school, often for reasons of entertainment. Borrow money for whatever reason you want. Just be responsible enough to have the integrity to pay back your lenders. That’s what a leader would do. It’s honest, fair, and respectful!
Have you discussed ethics with your children?
#powerofdadhood
World renowned futurist and author of “The Singularity is Near” Ray Kurzweil sees an exponential increase in the rate of change. He suggests we will see 20,000 years of change in the next century alone, based on a continuing pace of acceleration. Scary stuff!
As a kid, I fantasized about who cool it would be if everyone had a phone with them at all times, likely influenced by the capabilities of Dick Tracy’s watch. Three weeks ago, I bought my first Apple Watch. Now, not only do I have a phone on me that can speak to anyone in the world for free, it also monitors my heart rate, blood oxygen and blood sugar! I haven’t even mentioned how smartphones can help us with directions, photography, exercise, and so much more. What will our phones, apps, watches, fridges and cars do for use 20 years from now?
With all this change comes ethical challenges. How will privacy be protected? Will mental health be challenged? Will truth be more difficult to find given all the sources, many of which cannot be trusted? How fast to we allow our children to be introduced to technology, especially smartphones?
However, there are base ethical principles that should never change...
and your children should know and understand them. Here are seven ethical ideas that are explained simply enough for your kids to understand:
Honesty - reliably sharing good and bad news, and performing alone as you would being supervised, even if it’s painful.
Fairness - Life is not fair, but people should be. Treat others as you would want to be treated.
Integrity - keeping promises and simply doing what you say you are going to do, honestly and fairly (see above).
Compassion - understanding with kindness the needs, sensitivities, and values of others.
Respect - interacting with others with compassion and fairness (see above),
Responsibility - performing to completion, any task for which you are expected to do.
Leadership - being an example of ethical and responsible behavior to and for those you influence.
A current example
Now I’d like to apply these basic ethical principles to a current controversial topic, the bailout of student loans. When students get a loan for school, they sign a contract stating the guidelines for that loan to be repaid. If not repaid, many ethical principles are broken. I am against this bailout for the ethical reasons stated above.
The first ethical guideline is ‘integrity’ which includes the ethics of ‘honesty’ and ‘fairness’. Students are ‘responsible’ for those loans, like it or not. Those loans must be paid some way, if not by the borrower, then by the citizens who pay taxes. This is not respectful to many others. First, to those who repaid their loans in the past. Second, to the taxpayers who have to pick up students’ burden. Last, to those hard-working people who paid off loans to build a business, buy tools, or attendedtrade schools through borrowing.
It was reported on a Sunday morning show that 50% of the citizenry of the US is for this student loan bailout. No doubt many of these people have outstanding student loans. That doesn’t make their favoritism for this policy ethical. In fact, they are selling ethics for financial gain, a quandary no doubt.
I paid off my student loans, some of which were not for school, but to help my family. Likewise, many students take out loans for reasons other than school, often for reasons of entertainment. Borrow money for whatever reason you want. Just be responsible enough to have the integrity to pay back your lenders. That’s what a leader would do. It’s honest, fair, and respectful!
Have you discussed ethics with your children?
#powerofdadhood
