I am developing a hypothesis for determining what is right and what is wrong relative to civics.
I ask “What if everyone in the world did that?”
If the answer is that civilization would collapse (or get worse), then it is wrong. If the answer is the world would be a better place, it is right and good.
What if –
everyone became a consumer only, and stop producing?
nobody paid taxes?
everyone was uncivil and violent?
everyone did drugs?
everyone cheated?
everyone was untrustworthy and unpredictable?
everyone was physically unfit?
nobody voted?
everyone voted without learning or understanding first?
everyone threw trash out the window?
nobody tried anything outside of their comfort zone?
everyone committed fraud?
everyone worked 20 years and retired because they can?
It seems like an easy test, and it seems like this test applys to other people.
But apply it to yourself when making decisions about whether to do this or that – would the world be a better place if everyone did this?
Wow great way to look at ourself sand the world we live it. You should be a political writer.
Wow. Great list .. we also should apply that to our world and that could be a great platform for our politicians
And I am grateful for you my friend!
I began my career as a young engineer for a big, old corporation, and it wasn’t long before vendors started offering various kinds of gifts to gain favor. Things like dinners at fancy restaurants, golf outings, fishing trips, etc.
When I asked my immediate manager what was ethically acceptable, I was referred to a huge binder of SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) which would have taken days to plow through.
However, a senior manager then broke it down to a single sentence that made it simple:
“Never do anything that you wouldn’t want to defend in a court of law”.
This brings to mind the Douglas Adams quote, “No single raindrop feels responsible for the flood.”
I have used this same test for years and it has served me well. This goes exactly along with the Golden Rule which is “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
This also applies to many “legal” ways that people make money but that don’t produce any goods, such as playing the stock market.
I absolutely love this post and I think its a great way for folks to start their week off on the right foot! I very much try to operate under the assumption that my every move/word are being monitored and that I will be questioned later on. I hold myself accountable and I try to actively learn from my mistakes and the world around me. Thank you for guiding us all down the path of not just thinking daily, but doing it properly.
If
Everybody respected everybody