http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/22/opinion/ghitis-journalists-syria/index.html
"What The World Owes The Slain Journalists" by Frida Ghitis
This CNN article details two journalists that were killed covering the situation in Syria. Marie Colvin and Remi Ochlik were dedicated to their work, even in such turmoil, because they felt it was important that the world knew what was happening.
This article is more of a tribute than a hard news piece and Ghitis is in admiration of Colvin and Ochlik, and others like them. Most telling of her feelings, she writes, "I believe they subscribed to my own journalistic creed, that what happens everywhere, anywhere, deserves our attention. We are all citizens of the world. When a dictator massacres his people, we cannot, we should not, avert our gaze."
Ghitis writes about journalists as great altruists. She praises their courage to put themselves in the line of danger, for the greater good: "Let's remember that hundreds of reporters and photographers and producers risk their lives every day because they want us all to see the reality of what is happening in our dangerous, turbulent world. Let's remember that hundreds of them have died -- in the crossfire, in accidents, in medical emergencies away from medical facilities -- because they chose to take risk. They chose to take the risk, but they did not choose to die."
I read this piece, and I cannot help but be moved. Ghitis does not come out and use the word altruism, but that is so clearly what is being described. In this case, the journalists were the ultimate altruists. They willingly gave up their lives for the good of others.
I think it is remarkable that the journalists did that, because extreme altruism is so rare. This is not to say the journalists were pure altruists, all the time. But in their work, in this way, they were just that. Most people would not make the choice they make, particularly over and over again.
Ghitis is right in saying we ought to behave differently toward journalists. They deserve our thanks and praise for their service, similar to our military men and women. Journalists are fighting the intellectual part of our wars.
Showing posts with label ethics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ethics. Show all posts
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Teen drinking dead
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-county/bs-md-co-teen-death-20120221,0,2002827.story
This Baltimore Sun article talks about an incident that has haunted me for a little over a week. On February 18, a 13-year old boy was killed in a tragic accident. Michael Thomas Truluck had been out with friends drinking Four Loko, an energy drink with alcohol.
Truluck had thrown up twice when his mother's fiance picked him up. Once in the moving vehicle, he again needed to vomit and unbuckled his seatbelt, opened the car door, and leaned out to throw up. Instead he fell our of the car and was hit by another vehicle. He was rushed to a local hospital where he died hours later.
Truluck's mother has been an image of strength and grace. She has spoken freely to the media, in hopes that her family's tragedy can be an example for others. She has urged parents to pay more attention to their children, as she herself had no idea her son drank. She has urged her son's friends to stop their drinking, to see the real life dangers and risks.
Truluck was a student at Parkville Middle School. I work at Parkville High School. For the last week I have seen memorial t-shirts worn and heard of the candlelight vigils. One of my favorite student-athletes was neighbors with Truluck. My heart aches for these students.
My fear, the underlying tragedy, is that Truluck's mother's message will be missed. The majority of students I hear are lamenting that Michael was wearing his seatbelt. They are saying "if only" in regards to him buckling up, but not about the drinking.
This article states that about 2,000 high-school and college-age youths died from alcohol poisoning in 2010. It's sad to see a local face become a statistic, but that is an important number. My wish for my students is that they learn this statistic, and having a face to put to it makes it more real.
The classic immaturity of the students is to not know the law is there for a good reason. They think they are invincible, that these actions are cool. They fail to realize that some rules are not made to be broken, but are in place for a good reason. It's tragic, yet understandable that teenagers cannot comprehend this.
It's tragic, and not at all understandable to me, that adults don't realize this. Truluck and his friends acquired alcohol from an unidentified adult. This fact is the greatest ethical issue I see here. No driver involved was or will be charged with anything relating to Michael's death. He alone was at fault for taking of his seatbelt and opening the door. However, should the adult who purchased the alcohol be identified, I can only hope they will be charged with everything applicable. Morally, I believe that person has the greatest cross to bear.
This Baltimore Sun article talks about an incident that has haunted me for a little over a week. On February 18, a 13-year old boy was killed in a tragic accident. Michael Thomas Truluck had been out with friends drinking Four Loko, an energy drink with alcohol.
Truluck had thrown up twice when his mother's fiance picked him up. Once in the moving vehicle, he again needed to vomit and unbuckled his seatbelt, opened the car door, and leaned out to throw up. Instead he fell our of the car and was hit by another vehicle. He was rushed to a local hospital where he died hours later.
Truluck's mother has been an image of strength and grace. She has spoken freely to the media, in hopes that her family's tragedy can be an example for others. She has urged parents to pay more attention to their children, as she herself had no idea her son drank. She has urged her son's friends to stop their drinking, to see the real life dangers and risks.
Truluck was a student at Parkville Middle School. I work at Parkville High School. For the last week I have seen memorial t-shirts worn and heard of the candlelight vigils. One of my favorite student-athletes was neighbors with Truluck. My heart aches for these students.
My fear, the underlying tragedy, is that Truluck's mother's message will be missed. The majority of students I hear are lamenting that Michael was wearing his seatbelt. They are saying "if only" in regards to him buckling up, but not about the drinking.
This article states that about 2,000 high-school and college-age youths died from alcohol poisoning in 2010. It's sad to see a local face become a statistic, but that is an important number. My wish for my students is that they learn this statistic, and having a face to put to it makes it more real.
The classic immaturity of the students is to not know the law is there for a good reason. They think they are invincible, that these actions are cool. They fail to realize that some rules are not made to be broken, but are in place for a good reason. It's tragic, yet understandable that teenagers cannot comprehend this.
It's tragic, and not at all understandable to me, that adults don't realize this. Truluck and his friends acquired alcohol from an unidentified adult. This fact is the greatest ethical issue I see here. No driver involved was or will be charged with anything relating to Michael's death. He alone was at fault for taking of his seatbelt and opening the door. However, should the adult who purchased the alcohol be identified, I can only hope they will be charged with everything applicable. Morally, I believe that person has the greatest cross to bear.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Second teacher arrested
Second teacher arrest in lewd bondage inquiry http://bit.ly/Ae4SHT (via @cnn)
In one week's time two different teachers at Miramonte Elementary School have been arrested due to allegations of lewd acts on children.
First, Mark Berndt, 61, was arrested and charged with 23 acts of lewd conduct on a child. Berndt was accused of photographing more than two-dozen students while they were bound in his classroom. The photos also show spoons filled with a substance (suspected to be semen) by the students' mouths.
The second teacher arrested was 49-year old Martin Springer. Springer was accused of fondling two 7-year old girls.
It is unknown if the two girls Springer molested were also involved in Berndt's "game".
I said it in a previous article, and I'll say it again. Adults have a responsibility to children. We are supposed to protect them. School system employees particularly make the choice to take on that responsibility. The welfare of others is not optional.
I suppose this issue would make a compelling argument against hedonism. I can only assume the teachers alleged acts gave them some form of pleasure, and it appears that seeking their pleasure was the only concern. I believe pleasure is not bad, in and of itself, but pleasure at the expense of harm to others is wrong.
In one week's time two different teachers at Miramonte Elementary School have been arrested due to allegations of lewd acts on children.
First, Mark Berndt, 61, was arrested and charged with 23 acts of lewd conduct on a child. Berndt was accused of photographing more than two-dozen students while they were bound in his classroom. The photos also show spoons filled with a substance (suspected to be semen) by the students' mouths.
The second teacher arrested was 49-year old Martin Springer. Springer was accused of fondling two 7-year old girls.
It is unknown if the two girls Springer molested were also involved in Berndt's "game".
I said it in a previous article, and I'll say it again. Adults have a responsibility to children. We are supposed to protect them. School system employees particularly make the choice to take on that responsibility. The welfare of others is not optional.
I suppose this issue would make a compelling argument against hedonism. I can only assume the teachers alleged acts gave them some form of pleasure, and it appears that seeking their pleasure was the only concern. I believe pleasure is not bad, in and of itself, but pleasure at the expense of harm to others is wrong.
DUI pardon
http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/03/justice/mississippi-pardon-dui/index.html
(Side note: I'm realizing that so far every article I've found to discuss the ethics of is a tragic instance. I really hope by the end of the semester I find something that is a positive, perhaps an example of ethics at work.)
This article looks at the drunken driving record of a Mississippi man named Harry Bostick, and how he was pardoned by the former Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour.
Bostick, a convicted felon, was jailed for violating the terms of a previous DUI sentence. While in jail he applied for and was granted a full pardon for his felony DUI from March 2009. The 2009 arrest was Bostick's third DUI.
One week after Bostick was driving drunk and was involved in an accident that killed an 18-year old girl.
A review of Bostick's pardon application details the high-profile supporters he had. His pardon was also expedited by Barbour's final term coming to an end.
The Parole Board says they don't know how this could've happened; the governor's representative says he didn't know about subsequent charges. In short, no one wants to take responsibility.
Politics will also be an easy target for ethical studies. So often the game is about "who you know" and politicians pat each other on the back. They seem to live by different standards than the average person. It seems that's what happened here. Bostick was awarded a fourth chance and released from jail largely due to the status of the people in his corner.
Is this justice? Not even close. This is injustice, in the most plain sense. As Aristotle would say, this is lack of virtue. I'm not naive enough to think the average politician is moral, but I wish that corruption weren't so prevalent.
(Side note: I'm realizing that so far every article I've found to discuss the ethics of is a tragic instance. I really hope by the end of the semester I find something that is a positive, perhaps an example of ethics at work.)
This article looks at the drunken driving record of a Mississippi man named Harry Bostick, and how he was pardoned by the former Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour.
Bostick, a convicted felon, was jailed for violating the terms of a previous DUI sentence. While in jail he applied for and was granted a full pardon for his felony DUI from March 2009. The 2009 arrest was Bostick's third DUI.
One week after Bostick was driving drunk and was involved in an accident that killed an 18-year old girl.
A review of Bostick's pardon application details the high-profile supporters he had. His pardon was also expedited by Barbour's final term coming to an end.
The Parole Board says they don't know how this could've happened; the governor's representative says he didn't know about subsequent charges. In short, no one wants to take responsibility.
Politics will also be an easy target for ethical studies. So often the game is about "who you know" and politicians pat each other on the back. They seem to live by different standards than the average person. It seems that's what happened here. Bostick was awarded a fourth chance and released from jail largely due to the status of the people in his corner.
Is this justice? Not even close. This is injustice, in the most plain sense. As Aristotle would say, this is lack of virtue. I'm not naive enough to think the average politician is moral, but I wish that corruption weren't so prevalent.
NY Town: tics, Erin Brocovich
http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/03/us/new-york-students-illness/index.html
This CNN article first struck me as something out of a modern horror movie. In LeRoy, New York, 16 people (14 teen girls, one teen boy, and one 36-year old woman) have suddenly developed strange symptoms: uncontrollable twitching and verbal tics. Most patients have been diagnosed with "conversion disorder" and their doctors are saying stress is the most likely cause. Nothing can account for that number of patients in such a small town though.
The 15 teenagers all attend the same high school; school and EPA officials guarantee everything is safe there. However, environmental groups have doubts. Erin Brockovich, famously portrayed by Julia Roberts in a 2000 film detailing her early activism/investigative career, got involved after hearing about a toxic spill (1 ton of cyanide and 30,000 gallons of trichloroethylene) from 41-years ago.
The article goes on to detail the symptoms and experiences of some of the patients.
Reading this article leaves me horrified. I have to stop to challenge myself to shut down my emotional reactions, but the parallels to Brockovich's early work, combined with her involvement, make it difficult for me to read this and remain neutral.
There are two glaring moral areas I see, and they both deal with responsibility and duty. One is in relation to each other, to children specifically. The other is in relation to the environment, our planet.
Environmentally we all have a responsibility to protect our world and our resources. We have to be concerned with what chemicals we use and allow to get into our water, soil, etc. To read about a spill is just a devastating disappointment. However the spill may have occurred, someone and some corporation bears the moral burden of being at fault. More recently, this reminds me of the Gulf Coast oil spill. Accidents happen, but when they destroy natural habitats, the ripple effect is widespread.
In relation to our children, students, this is just horrifying. Adults have a responsibility to the youth and the school system especially. I coach at a public high school and know that my first and foremost job is to help these students. I am responsible for their well-being when they are with me and I am supposed to teach them and help them have better lives. Coaching a sport is really a secondary or tertiary responsibility.
Though I'm not a moral absolutist, I have no problem saying that other school system employees ought to feel the same responsibility, because it is one that you volunteer for. To read that school officials want to promise that everything is safe does not surprise me. They are obviously concerned with covering their own butts, but it's disappointing. There are some instances where I believe the right thing to do is focus on the well-being of others, and this is a perfect example of such a time.
This CNN article first struck me as something out of a modern horror movie. In LeRoy, New York, 16 people (14 teen girls, one teen boy, and one 36-year old woman) have suddenly developed strange symptoms: uncontrollable twitching and verbal tics. Most patients have been diagnosed with "conversion disorder" and their doctors are saying stress is the most likely cause. Nothing can account for that number of patients in such a small town though.
The 15 teenagers all attend the same high school; school and EPA officials guarantee everything is safe there. However, environmental groups have doubts. Erin Brockovich, famously portrayed by Julia Roberts in a 2000 film detailing her early activism/investigative career, got involved after hearing about a toxic spill (1 ton of cyanide and 30,000 gallons of trichloroethylene) from 41-years ago.
The article goes on to detail the symptoms and experiences of some of the patients.
Reading this article leaves me horrified. I have to stop to challenge myself to shut down my emotional reactions, but the parallels to Brockovich's early work, combined with her involvement, make it difficult for me to read this and remain neutral.
There are two glaring moral areas I see, and they both deal with responsibility and duty. One is in relation to each other, to children specifically. The other is in relation to the environment, our planet.
Environmentally we all have a responsibility to protect our world and our resources. We have to be concerned with what chemicals we use and allow to get into our water, soil, etc. To read about a spill is just a devastating disappointment. However the spill may have occurred, someone and some corporation bears the moral burden of being at fault. More recently, this reminds me of the Gulf Coast oil spill. Accidents happen, but when they destroy natural habitats, the ripple effect is widespread.
In relation to our children, students, this is just horrifying. Adults have a responsibility to the youth and the school system especially. I coach at a public high school and know that my first and foremost job is to help these students. I am responsible for their well-being when they are with me and I am supposed to teach them and help them have better lives. Coaching a sport is really a secondary or tertiary responsibility.
Though I'm not a moral absolutist, I have no problem saying that other school system employees ought to feel the same responsibility, because it is one that you volunteer for. To read that school officials want to promise that everything is safe does not surprise me. They are obviously concerned with covering their own butts, but it's disappointing. There are some instances where I believe the right thing to do is focus on the well-being of others, and this is a perfect example of such a time.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Post soccer match riot causes 70+ deaths
From my MSNBC app: http://bit.ly/Apj7h9
This article discusses a great tragedy in Cairo -- 74 people (one of whom was a police officer) reported dead after a riot following a soccer match. The best team in Egypt, Al-Ahly, lost in a shocking upset to Al-Masry, which caused fans (soccer fans are known as hooligans for a reason) to riot. The final score was 3-1.
Struck by the enormity of this event, the goalkeeper for Al-Ahly was quoted as saying he and his teammates had made the decision to quit playing soccer.
This article connects this riot to recent politically-inspired violence, although there is no real relation. This riot was purely about the game. There is just a familiarity about the violence in the streets. The greatest similarity seems to be the lack of police control, in any case of violence or rioting.
An even greater tragedy is that this isn't the first such post-soccer riot and likely won't be the last. History is strewn with such riots after matches. The article reports that this incident was the worst since 1996, when a stampede left 78 people dead in a Guatemalan stadium.
When this alert popped up on my phone today I wasn't even surprised. More than anything, that saddened me. Soccer is something I am very passionate about, but even I cannot emotionally comprehend how it turns into this type of a situation.
In class last night, we touched on values and how they pertain to an individuals code of ethics. I think this is a strong example of how values can affect peoples choices. For less privileged people, in poorer countries than the USA, they seem to place a much higher value on their city's or country's pride in context of sports.
I have been known to cry over sports losses, and even that is an extreme for a middle class American. But to storm a field, stampeding and crushing those around me? As important as sports are, the situation would have to be very different to prompt me to react so strongly.
This article discusses a great tragedy in Cairo -- 74 people (one of whom was a police officer) reported dead after a riot following a soccer match. The best team in Egypt, Al-Ahly, lost in a shocking upset to Al-Masry, which caused fans (soccer fans are known as hooligans for a reason) to riot. The final score was 3-1.
Struck by the enormity of this event, the goalkeeper for Al-Ahly was quoted as saying he and his teammates had made the decision to quit playing soccer.
This article connects this riot to recent politically-inspired violence, although there is no real relation. This riot was purely about the game. There is just a familiarity about the violence in the streets. The greatest similarity seems to be the lack of police control, in any case of violence or rioting.
An even greater tragedy is that this isn't the first such post-soccer riot and likely won't be the last. History is strewn with such riots after matches. The article reports that this incident was the worst since 1996, when a stampede left 78 people dead in a Guatemalan stadium.
When this alert popped up on my phone today I wasn't even surprised. More than anything, that saddened me. Soccer is something I am very passionate about, but even I cannot emotionally comprehend how it turns into this type of a situation.
In class last night, we touched on values and how they pertain to an individuals code of ethics. I think this is a strong example of how values can affect peoples choices. For less privileged people, in poorer countries than the USA, they seem to place a much higher value on their city's or country's pride in context of sports.
I have been known to cry over sports losses, and even that is an extreme for a middle class American. But to storm a field, stampeding and crushing those around me? As important as sports are, the situation would have to be very different to prompt me to react so strongly.
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