Everyday ethics, a part of our core values By Lt. Cmdr. Edward Erwin NAS Sigonella Religious Ministries Department NAS SIGONELLA, Sicily - Ethics is not simply for those misfortunates whose names are plastered on headline news because of their indiscretions. Ethics encompass everyday decisions for every human being. We live out our values in our choices and conduct each day. The Navy’s core values of honor, courage, and commitment hopefully help guide us while guarding against immoral choices like drinking and driving, cheating on exams, embezzling funds, or becoming involved in inappropriate relationships. When we face major predicaments of the heart, making wise decisions will help us avoid headline news indiscretions or even the commanding officer’s naughty list, if our choices reflect the sound character we live out daily. In some schools of thought, ethics is all about making the right decision in the moment of monumental crisis, when in reality the emphasis should be on the development of strong moral character as a people who do the right thing and make the right decision during many moments of each day because that’s what really defines us. Character ethics is more than sound decisions in a quandary, but about honor, courage, and commitment in everything we do. People associating with good people doing good things on and off duty generally make good decisions in and out of crisis. What are some good practices that help foster making sound choices? • Respect for families and friends and putting their needs above our own in a spirit of sacrifice builds moral character. We shouldn’t give the least amount of time and energy to those we love the most. Before we make that key decision, in our minds we should look at our spouse and our children and then let our conscience guide us. • Volunteer service in the community does as much good for us as it does for the recipients of our charity. Albert Einstein said, “Only a life lived in the service to others is worth living.” When we help the impoverished and disadvantaged, it makes us grateful for what we have and the opportunity to help someone gives us a feeling that nothing else can. • Devotion to what is sacred and holy in one’s faith tradition inspires high moral standards. Micah 6:8 says, “And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.” When we participate in worship, prayer, and meditation, it shapes the very core of our being through sacred stories in a community of faith. • Mentors reinforce and reaffirm our career progression, our professional dreams, and our personal character. We become what we admire. The time our heroes invest in us is also an investment in moral choices that we can all be proud of and celebrate as service members. Big decisions test what we are made of, but those little decisions each day to show acts of kindness, to get out of bed early to PT, to take a class to further our education, to remember our place of worship even in busy times, to give to the needy make us a better and stronger people. If we want ethics in the big things, we must have ethics in the little things too. If we don’t have ethics in the little decisions of life, we probably won’t have them in the big decisions of life either. Honor, courage, and commitment on the job and at home 24/7 are what everyday ethics, and more to the point it is what WE, are all about!
Posted on: Fri, 23 Jan 2015 06:50:01 +0000
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