Values and Ethics Reflection
Jacob A. Steinmetz
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Professor Warren Edick
Values and Ethics Reflection
Growing up I was taught the difference between right and wrong and when I chose the incorrect one I quickly learned that I should have chosen the right way. The best way to look back in the past would be to look back and see that you made the correct choices and meant for the best possible outcome. Some beings don’t understand that when you make decisions that are wrong, you will be judge by society in a negative way. That is life and the world we grow up in. Making terrible decisions isn’t a bad thing, people make mistakes, but you have to learn from them and realize it was wrong. If a person does this, it demands respect. Everyone makes mistakes, however not everyone learns from them as society would like us too. In America, we have so many rights, and people should exercise these rights. These rights allow individuals to make their own choices and live life as they see fit - as long as they do it honestly and by the rules expected of us. The values I live by today are honesty, respect, and integrity.
I was instilled with these values at a young age. These values were what I was taught by my family. The culture in which I grew up in had great influence on my values and ethics. My father has always told me two things: reputation is everything and you only get one first impression. When your reputation is burned, your credibility is immediately lost. Secondly, treat others as you would like to be treated. As described in chapter 5 (Rosenstand) “we have to think hard whether we’re about to do the right thing or not; it can’t be determined by a gut-level feeling.” Whenever I am put in the situation where my ethics and values are tested I find myself reflecting to these principles. Another factor was me joining the Military. Continuing through 10 years of service in the United States Navy (USN) I have battled with many different ethical and moral challenges. When I joined the military I swore to an oath. Working in a premier special operations force ensures people live by certain values - honor, courage, and commitment. I say this because if you do not have respect and integrity for yourself, how can my brothers expect me to display the same values towards them and the mission? A mission they are willing to sacrifice their lives for and the brothers next to them. This created a very strong push to follow my values at all cost; the values expected of me. I respect these indivduals deeply. As an adolescent, I was going down the wrong path. Surrounding myself with underage drinking and even drugs. Though I consumed alcohol I never experimented with drugs. The United States Navy was my saving grace. Not only would I most likely have ended up in jail, it has instilled in me additional values and meaning. All while providing me with another family. A family of hard charging men and woman who always have your best interest as well as the overall good of the group.
Through my learning in this class I have found myself to lean more towards deontology. The reason for this is because I do believe consequences are important, people should be punished proportionally for the wrong they do. However, I do not think it is more important than the reason that person did it, the greater good does not outweigh the rights individuals have. Deontology is a theory based on the evaluation of the will behind the action rather than the consequences of the action (Rosenstand, 282). Mill’s Harm Principle adapts utilitarianism to individual rights in that everyone should be allowed to seek higher pleasures and enjoy the benefits of personal liberty (Rosenstand, 255-256). Deontology and Mill’s Harm Principle are what make my ethical code. If someone does something wrong but they meant for the best possible outcome to happen then, the outcome doesn’t really matter to me. However, I am still conflicted a bit, because I truly believe there are a ton of variables for specific outcomes. The good of the people in ones’ eyes may not be the good for the people in others, and power can play a role in this. Moving forward are the negative affects for the good of the people whether astronomical or minuscule.
A few years into the Navy, I had a Sailor who grounded an aircraft that was supposed to fly this specific day in which the Commanding Officer was the pilot. The reason this junior Sailor grounded the aircraft was that he thought he found a defect on the main rotor blade. Instead of waiting until after the flight he wrote the defect up during the preflight. What we call “downing” the aircraft for flight. I agreed with what he did, because in his mind he believed it was truly a defect and that it was unsafe to release for flight. However, the Commanding Officer did not like nor agree with his decision and wanted me to provided formal counseling to the Sailor for grounding his aircraft, resulting in critical training not being met. Something that remains in the Sailors recorder until he leaves the respective squadron. Once my quality control representative conducted research on the blade and found out the suspected defect was not a defect, rather a previous repaired rotor blade, the Commanding Officer insisted we move forward with corrective action for a lack of confidence with the Sailors maintenance qualifications. I said “yes sir” and went on my way. Moving forward, I found my detachment Chief and informed him I will not punish a junior Sailor for doing something he felt was correct and in the safest means. In this specific situation, the outcome was no defect on a criticial component for flight, rather a repair that resembled a deficiency. The Sailor that grounded it did it with safety in his mind, did not do it to make the Commanding Officer infuriated. Rather a “safety first” mentality. I strongly believed he had good intentions for the collective whole and never pursued any further corrective action. In the event I could have articulated the text from our reading to my Commanding Officer, I would have recommended the reading when Kant describes good will: “good will is what makes an action morally good, regardless of its consequences.” That the junior Sailor was still “praiseworthy provided he tried hard to do the right thing,” and not at the chopping block. (Rosenstand, 284)
Today I feel that I am a small percentage of the person I want to be. By saying this I mean that even though I am on the right track I am not close enough to being where I would like to be. Moving forward, I certainly feel that I continue to reflect on the building blocks in which my family has taught me as an adolescent. The building blocks that I hope to instill into my two young boys as they continue to grow up to find their true values. In the past I was the irresponsible guy that would spend money on all the wrong reason. I am unquestionably not the same person I was in the preceding years. I am growing to be the person that can get the job done in addition to motivate, lead, and mentor. This assignment has has taught me look at both sides of the equation before presenting the answer. I feel the most I would like to change about myself is the ability to have and maintain patience - especially in a fast paced demanding society. I feel that surrounding myself with the same type of people I that hold true to their morals and values can for inevitably change my ways for the best. If I was to be dying and only individuals I could talk were my wife and two boys, I would tell them to not take anything for granted and appreciate everything that they have been given the privilege and opportunity for. I feel the value that is the most important to me is honesty, followed closely by respect and integrity. I feel that without honesty the next step to your life will be a failure; leading to a domino effect on the rest of your life. Everything regardless of religion, society and or cultural background revolves solely on the trust that one brings to the table. As a wise man once said, “reputation is everything and you only get one first impression. When your reputation is burned, your credibility is immediately lost.”
References
Rosenstand, N. (2013). The moral of the story: An Introduction to Ethics (P. 255-256, 282).
New York, NY: McGraw-H