Sidney T. Sweeting, DDS
Every Rotarian is given the challenge to guide all his actions by a 4-way test
- Is it the truth?
- Is it fair to all concerned?
- Will it build goodwill and better friendships?
- Will it be beneficial to all concerned?
I have been considering, especially in recent years, of how great Bahamian society would be if every Bahamian would accept that same challenge.
Unfortunately, so many infractions are considered so minor as to be accepted as a challenge, such as trying every trick to avoid “paying unto Caesar” after a trip abroad and so many of these same people can be found warming the pews in their church every Sunday. Then there are so many of these “minor” infractions that it becomes “acceptable” to move into more serious ones.
There was the lawyer who decided one day that he no longer wanted to be an associate and left with a suitcase full of files to be used for solicitation of clients in another firm. Some may hesitate to refer to that action as “stealing” but as the saying goes “if it looks like a duck and it quacks like a duck………”
This is not a “privilege” just for lawyers and I would speculate that a survey of accounting firms, realtors, medical and dental practices, etc. would provide a disturbing list of those persons who would have failed that Rotary test.
The “in thing” in the Bahamas now is for an employee to find some reason, often invalid and frivolous, to take their former employer to the Labour Board. I give the example of an employee at a private school who was stealing the tuition funds. Her guilt was proved , she was dismissed and she took the school to the Labour Board. Most people who take this action do so just hoping that their lawyer is more versed in the law than the opposing lawyer. The final example and there are many, is the gardener whose work ethic was very poor and asked his employer to fire him so he could take him to the Labour Board.
On a personal note , When I started the practice of dentistry I was proud to have as colleagues Drs. Paul Albury, Norman Cove, John Louis, Cyril Vanderpool, Cleve Eneas, Ray Sawyer and Hal Leyland, all men of sterling character. There was no thought of needing a code of ethics, our word was our bond. Not so today.
At a local sailing club there is a sign posted for the youngsters in the sailing program which states “If you have won the race but have lost the respect of your competitors, you have won nothing.”
It is a sad commentary on our society when young people can learn that maxim and so many adults in the same society cannot live by the tenets of discipline necessary for a life of integrity.
I’m with you all the way Dr.Sweeting,the integrity is long gone,it must have been buried along with the common sense.
Dr Sweeting, I concur fully in your thoughts, which regrettably, are symptomatic of a much bigger change that has taken place in our society. It is a loss of morality so pervasive but so antithetical to our upbringing, that it appears to have been imposed on us by some external force.
What’s most regrettable however, is the malfunctioning moral compass shows up at every level of our society:
State (political corruption);
Society (a general acceptance of impropriety);
Organisational (the workplace is under serious threat); and
Family (adultery practised widely and almost indiscriminately).
This is an inexcusable lapse in morality for a society that prides itself in its fear of God and love for religion.
One has to wonder whether or not this is really a “lapse in morality” or a new morality that has taken over society.. If so then what is this so-called demon, “external force” that is infecting the behavior and conduct of Bahamian society??
We can see this new social morality taking hold today in the United States.. This new morality has gradually destroyed the traditional and fundamental values upon which the country was founded.. Individual rights have been subordinated to collective rights as the government takes more control over its citizenry..
In our Bahamas this change also is happening as our citizens become more and more dependent upon the government.. As we head towards the coming general elections, one wonders if any of the three political parties seeking to rule our country could pass the Rotary “4-Way Test”.. Only time will tell..
Tradewinds, you make good point but I think you have it backwards.
Indeed, we are seeing the emergence of individual rights over the collective. If a lawyer seeks to enrich himself by expropriating funds from clients; if a Doctor sells information about patients for self-gain; if a worker pilfers from his company; if a person cheats on his/her spouse; etc, etc, in each case, it is the individual saying that his needs and desires are more important that those of his firm, practice, company or family …. he (and not the group) has become the focus!
I have no answer S3S for when in mankind greed becomes corruption.. Individualism we can agree assumes responsibility for ones own conduct and behavior.. I am only stating that such esoteric concepts as “Social Justice” which is a collective ideal, has no foundation in common law or for that matter Constitutional law.. My two examples, the United States and our Bahamas are countries whose citizens are becoming more and greater dependent upon government subsidies and support.. Yes, citizens are making individual decisions to become government dependents but in exchange they are giving up individual rights and freedom in the exchange.. To give up ones individual liberty for collective dependency is the path to government socialism and the eventually allocation of resources based upon government criteria (planning) and not upon an individual’s needs (free market).. British National Health is a classic example of the failure of government mandated health care or for that matter lack of health care.. Sadly the United States is following in same failed direction with its mandated Obamacare..
S3S, I don’t think we see this issue from backward perspectives, but view it from different sides of the political spectrum..