#5: Remember professional ethics

I’ve been working my way through On Tyranny, recommended by Bruce Gerencser here, and discussed a bit here.

It’s a brief enumeration by a Yale historian of 20-rules which, if we all observe them, undermine authoritarians — a timely subject. Rule number 5 is …

Remember professional ethics

Good advice. There are no Flint water-supply disasters without engineers who have set-aside their professional ethics. There are no show trials without lawyers who have set-aside their professional ethics. There are no obscene medical experiments without doctors who have set-aside their professional ethics. There are no cover-ups of pastoral sex abuse without preachers who have set-aside their professional ethics. There are no Enron collapses without accountants who have set-aside their professional ethics.

Now, I understand that most people don’t earn their living by practicing an occupation that is considered a ‘profession’ — but it is true of all trades and occupations that there is an enveloping set of expectations that constitute what is considered proper, acceptable behavior. Even the kid who hands burgers through the drive-through window is expected to return the proper change.

Ethics are not a burden; they are the first line of defense against dog-eat-dog chaos.

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