"Tell Me Again, Why Am I Teaching Ethics?"

I assumed that there was no extra ingredient added to my Crème Caramel coffee drink that, upon opening my eyes from savoring the first sip, placed the frazzled, fortyish looking individual who, magically, appeared in the empty seat across from me. His appearance at Sweetwaters Coffee and Tea had gone unnoticed by me, until now. 

“Tell me, again, why am I teaching ethics?” he asked, clearly not caring about the fact that I never asked the question. Given the uncertainty of the moment, I decided to continue sipping my coffee hoping that he would answer the question or go away.

“I have been teaching this topic for…, YEARS!” he continued, “And now, after 30 years of trying to impart the importance of thinking oneself through the gray tunnel that connects black and white, I’m lost!”

“Can I treat you to a cup of coffee?” I asked hoping to stop this train that was barreling through a gray tunnel.

“Coffee only winds me up. But, thank you.” He closed his eyes for a 5 count then looked right at me. “You understand the importance of ethics, don’t you?

“Yes, I..,”

“Ethics attempts to reconcile spiritual absolutes and legal relativity by giving people a place in which to be thoughtful about the gong noise from the cymbals being hit by their conscious.”

“Meaning what” I asked.

“Meaning that ethics are, both, a compliment and combatant to social norms. They keep a society free by holding it accountable to its own rules.”

“Okay, so why are you having this conversation with me?”

“Because the rules keep changing. Not because of social evolution, but because of selfish convenience. For example, do you understand the principle of duty in a free society?”

Before I could respond, he interrupted

“Duty is the obligation to suborn self-interest in order to sustain institutional ideals. When one observes an obvious wrong that threatens to undermine institutional ideals, there is an obligation to take action.”

“Sounds easy enough,” I said. “What’s your issue with that principle?”

Irritated with my question, he lashed out, “Where’s the evidence of consistency that makes the principle valid? In the last 20 years, how many institutions have blinded themselves to their own ideals?

“I gotta tell you, mister. I’m just a working stiff with no real answers to your question. Maybe you should..,

He interrupted, “How about the principle, the Ends Justifies the Means as a way of moving the social meter?”

“I have heard of that principle,” I admitted, “In my lifetime, I would give it mixed results.”

“YOU’RE TOO KIND!”, he shouted practically scaring the elderly gentleman who had been napping in a sofa chair near the magazine table. “Do you know how often this principle has been used to explain away acts of corruption, brutality and social cruelty?”

“Admittedly,” I said, “I don’t have an exact number..,” I could see that I was only adding to his, already, aggravated state and tried to ease the conversation into another direction. “,..however, you must love teaching about ethics because you have done it for so long.”

He paused, slumped back in his chair and, in a whispered tone, seem to go through a series of disconnected utterances. I couldn’t tell if he was upset by my responses or wondering why I hadn’t repeated my offer to buy him a cup of coffee. He stopped his utterances and leaned forward, making direct eye contact. 

“A reasonable person chooses existence over extinction,” he stated. “We are individuals in a larger constellation of souls linked to each other’s survival. To be unreasonable in ways that hurts or hinders another soul is to reduce the value of all.”

I thought for a moment and said, “It’s an interesting notion, but in the end, don’t we all make choices based on our individual interpretation of ethical principles without much consideration for the constellation of souls?”

“YES!!” he yelled as he stood up. As he turned to walk away, he said, “Tell me again, why am I teaching ethics?”

While pondering the question, I realized he took my cup of Crème Caramel coffee.