--Will Allen Dromgoole

Socrates taught Plato; Plato taught Aristotle; Aristotle taught Alexander the Great.

Knowledge, had it not been pa.s.sed along, would have died.

Our greatest responsibility is to pa.s.s on a legacy that the coming generations can be proud of.

CHANGING VALUES--TODAY'S VALUES.

Change is inevitable. Whether we like it or not, it is going to be there. We have had enough of the "me" generation and situational ethics which have led to the loss of strong communities. There is sadness for getting caught rather than remorse for having done wrong.*

A survey of high school princ.i.p.als in 1958 asked this question: What are the main problems among your students? The answer was:

1. Not doing homework.

2. Not respecting property--for example, throwing books.

3. Leaving lights on and doors and windows open.

4. Throwing spitb.a.l.l.s in cla.s.s.

5. Running through the halls.

The same survey question was asked 30 years (one generation) later, in 1988. The answers were startlingly different. Here are the main problems of today's high school students:

1. Abortion 2. AIDS.

3. Rape 174*4. Drugs 5. Fear of violent death, murder, guns, and knives in school

Try not to be a man of success but rather try to be a man of value.

--Albert Einstein * smoking Choices by Peter Kreeft, pp. 1a2.

OLD VALUES ARE NOT OBSOLETE.

Values such as responsibility, integrity, commitment, and patriotism are considered old by some. These may be old values but they are certainly not obsolete. They have stood the test of time and will be here forever. These values have the same meaning in New York as in New Delhi or New Zealand. They are universal. I don't know of any time or culture in history which does not respect these values.

VALUES ARE AT AN ALL-TIME LOW.

In any society, basic immorality and injustice lead to despair. The greedy and inconsiderate who seek immoral pleasures must be stopped by those committed with values. We have strayed in the process of change.

Any society that has lost its moral bearing is heading for disaster because all failures in history have been moral failures.

More than half a century ago, America was in the middle of a wrenching depression.

One-third of our nation's wealth vanished in a matter of months. Manufacturing declined 77%. One-fourth of the labor force was left idle. Many cities could not afford to keep schools open. Twenty percent of New York schoolchildren were malnourished. At one point, 34 million men, women, and children were without any income at all.

Yet in the depths of that hardship, with its soup kitchens, bank closings, and hunger, Franklin Roosevelt could tell the nation in a radio address, "Our difficulties, thank G.o.d, concern only material things."*

WHAT IS GOODNESS?.

If we took a survey, asking people one question, "Are you good?" most people would respond, "Yes!" Ask them, "What makes you good?" Responses will be:

I don't cheat so I'm good.

I don't lie so that makes me good.

I don't steal, so I'm good.

If you a.n.a.lyze the above rationales, there is not much substance in them. Just think of the person who says, "I don't cheat." Well, that only means that he is not a cheat. And the persons who say they don't lie and steal, only mean that they are not liars and thieves.

But that doesn't make them good. A person becomes good when he actually does good rather than not doing wrong. A person of values would be one who has qualities such as fairness, compa.s.sion, courage, integrity, empathy, humility, loyalty and courtesy. What 175*makes a person with these qualities good person? It is because these are the kind of people who are dependable, stand up for justice, help the needy, make life better for themselves and those around them. To recognize goodness in all its forms, we need benchmarks and standards. Benchmarks can be ethical, or legal, or both. Ethical ones deal with right and wrong and all the gray areas that are in between leading to what is good and more good and what is bad and more bad.

*journal of the American Family a.s.sociation, November / December 1991.

HOW HIGH ARE OUR ETHICAL STANDARDS?.

What would you do in the following situations?

1. You know the taxi fare from your home to the airport is $64. You have paid it before, you know it is the correct fare. This time the taxi driver asks for $32. What would you do?

2. You are dining in a restaurant and you ordered four dishes and the waiter brought all four but by mistake, billed you for only three. What would you do?

3. Your best friend is terminally ill and you are a life a.s.surance salesman. They needed $100,000 worth of insurance. No one knows and no one can find out that your friend is dying. Would you write the policy?

You cannot legislate ethics. What advice would you give to your children under the same circ.u.mstances? Is your behavior conforming with the advice you would give your children in the same situation? We start learning ethics right after birth and all through our lives.

Can we change ethical behavior? Yes, we need ethical training.

WHAT AFFECTS ETHICS?.

Greed Fear Pressure

Pressure to perform does not justify unethical acts. To be treated fairly is not the same thing as being treated equally.

ETHICS IN BUSINESS.

Ethics or lack of it is evident in every profession. Greedy doctors do unnecessary procedures and surgery. Lawyers bend the truth. Parents and children alike tell white lies. Accountants and secretaries often falsify reports.

When we cheat the people around us, most of all we are cheating ourselves. We are preparing ourselves to be cheated. Prosperity brings responsibility. We cannot build industry and infrastructure while destroying the moral and social fiber.

The consequences of not following ethical behavior are the same as not following legal behavior. Some people will never be ethical. They think they are taking the easy way. In 176*reality it is the tougher way. Could you face yourself if you didn't do the right thing for your client? Could you brag to your kids and be proud and feel good? If you can't, then that behavior is unethical.

A sense of humor and pride in oneself keep a person on course.

VISION.

Why don't people achieve excellence? The big reason is the lack of vision or limited vision. We need to dream beyond what is possible. Everything that we see today was a dream before it became reality. Live with enthusiasm, direction and with a sense of purpose. Do you have a dream? What is your dream? Every day that you live, are you getting closer to your purpose? Get your advice from successful people and not from living failures who will tell you how to succeed.

Where the vision is one year, cultivate flowers.

Where the vision is ten years, cultivate trees.

Where the vision is eternity, cultivate people.

Oriental saying.

Remember, winners don't do different things, they do things differently!.

177*