The Ethical Checklist

This is a useful list that I sometimes use to help others with personal problems. It is courtesy of the St James Ethics centre in Sydney Australia. There's a good article by the General Manager Simon Longstaff here.

Ethical Issues and Decision-Making

1. Would I be happy for this to be on the public record? ...

2. What would happen if everybody did this? ...

3. How would I like it if someone did this to me? ...

4. Will the proposed course of action bring about a good result? ...

5. What will the proposed course of action do to my character or my organisation's character? ...

6. Is the proposed course of action consistent with my espoused values and principles? ...

The former prison guards at Abu Ghraib prison could have well done with the above checklist. I note one former brother in arms giving testimony at Spc. Charles Graner's trial described the following.....

He [The witness] also quoted Graner, a one-time civilian prison guard, as saying: "The Christian in me says it's wrong, but the corrections officer in me says I love to make a grown man piss himself."

Even Christians can fall way short on ethics from time to time.