The Ethics Advantage #67: Freedom Edition

American Independence Day presents not only an opportunity but also an obligation to reflect on the responsibilities of freedom. As one of my teachers, Rabbi Nota Schiller, likes to say:

Free will is not the ability to do what we want; it's the ability to do what we don't want. Mastery over impulse in upholding principles, values, and ideals is the hallmark of human nobility.

That is the moral discipline the United States was founded on. We don't always get it right. But we have overall maintained progress in pursuit of ethics and virtue. Whether or not we continue in the right direction is entirely up to us.

In this week's issue:

• The Ethical Lexicon 67: Change course from failure to Success
• A very American thing to do
• Grappling with the Gray 97: Flying too high?

🥷I frequently cite my college English professor Max Byrd, who remarked: “I’ve never understood why people complain about being disillusioned. I would be grateful for the opportunity to be relieved of my illusions.”

And the most effective way to dispel illusion is with a healthy dose of reality.

Read this week's column in Fast Company here:

🥷On January 11, 1989, at 9:02 p.m., President Ronald Reagan delivered his farewell address from the Oval Office at the White House.

His concluding remarks are as relevant today as they were 35 years ago. Maybe more.

Definitely worth thinking about as America celebrates its independence.

Independence Day is not about picnics and fireworks. It's about remembering who we are as a people and what we've accomplished as a nation. It's about the need for enlightened leadership and responsible followership.

And it's all on our shoulders.

Please click to read:

🥷How do we weigh quantifiable costs against intangible benefits?

That's the question that drives the conversation when Catherine Fitzgerald, Sven Lauch, and Stewart Wiggins join the ethics panel to Grapple with the Gray.

Here is our topic:

A recent documentary about the Blue Angels profiles the extraordinary discipline required to fly fighter jets in formation a mere 12 - 18 inches apart from one another and perform a variety of other aerobatic stunts. The film portrays the dedication of the team and the eagerness of navy pilots to join their ranks to perform heart-stopping aerial stunts.

However, heart-stopping may be a bit too descriptive, as nearly ten percent of Blue Angel pilots have died on the job since the team formed in 1946, most of them due to human error. The flying team was the brainchild of Admiral Chester Nimitz, who hoped that flying exhibitions would boost Navy morale while gaining public and political support for a larger defense budget.

The airshows reportedly cost taxpayers $35 million dollars a year, consume massive amounts of fuel, seem to flout concerns about climate change, and produce deafening noise pollution. One columnist observed that the Blue Angel budget could feed all homeless veterans for over a month, and headlines occasionally appear about pilots protesting the danger of the maneuvers they are commanded to perform. Nevertheless, the performances remain tremendously popular.

The arguments for the shows and against the shows are both entirely defensible. How do we evaluate intangibles like public and service member morale against quantifiable objections concerning cost, safety, and environmental impact? If we want to be completely practical, we should do away with holiday parades, NASCAR, and the NFL, shouldn’t we? Or should we?

Please click to enjoy this week's episode:

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