Ethics Day
Random thoughts from ethics day. There were so many different questions, that are so iffy that if you say one thing, it can really contradict another. An example of this is the "blogger terrorist". On one hand people are entitled to their freedom of speech as laid out in the Constitution, so that anyone can write whatever they want wherever they want. Blogging behind an anonymous title enables anyone to do just that. In some respects this is a good thing, certain people that are typically to shy or timid to come out and say something, are able to do so with the defense of no one really finding out who they are. This also gives people in a unique position, say an executive of a company, that ability to go write a blog somewhere that lets someone know what he.she thinks of the company without anyone finding out . (they hope) On the other hand, I believe that this needs to have some sort of limit on it, but have no idea where and when to draw the line. With such anonymity the public can write down some harmful, discriminating, or even incriminating things. For example, from the bus crash that happened lately. Individuals from one of the Minneapolis suburbs wrote a blog behind a anonymous name that told that the driver of the van should be killed how it should be done. This sort of blog to me signifies "terrorist". Freedom of speech or not, a person should not be able to do or write such harmful things without some kind of consequence or accountability. I'm sure everyone can agree, it was a horrible tragedy that people will not soon forget, but remember that when that lady left her house that day, she wasn't set out to do what happened. That is why it is called an accident. To have that sort of shield is a double edged sword. As we talked about in class and as I just mentioned. I firmly believe, that yes people should be able to write whatever, but we need to take accountability for what we write, especially if we expect others to be accountable for the actions that are being written about. There should not be that disconnect between the two.
This is something that people will continue to debate for a long time to come. In our society, no one wants to be responsible for anything. I'll state right now, that I guilty from time to time too. Its just that so many people that you talk to have excuses or it was so and so faults why this happened. In certain cases, yes someone else caused it, but you were still there whether by choice or not. Where are we going to place the blame and who's going to take it? Again where to draw the line?