Bad Cop, Worse Cop
By Stephen Shepherd, Marketing –
When moral dilemmas face people in their business and personal lives, they have to choose between the admired moral strength of super heroes or the easy way out.
“You broke the vow you made to protect the public and serve the community,” declared U.S. District Court Judge Percy Anderson to six members of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The six were sentenced to as long as three and a half years in federal prison for attempting to deter an FBI investigation in the local jails.
What a waste of years’ training for and investing in a professional future that was supposed to bring success, hope and justice to so many. Each of these individuals most likely had the opportunity to put an end to their colleague’s corrupt behavior, but none stepped forward. They failed the ultimate test for which they had prepared and trained for so long — their commitment to moral law.
Are Superheroes on a Realistic Pedestal?
It seems that the recent wave of superhero movies has reflected our interest in invincible heroes that have an indomitable sense of right and wrong. They help deliver justice and keep the public safe, but always according to their conscience, which typically resonates with our own. Despite the occasional death or disappointment, they nearly always pass the test of commitment to integrity and morality.
A wise man told me today that life could be compared to a test. Just like the dreaded free-response questions on college exams, life often requires us to formulate options and make decisions unique to our circumstances. We encounter challenges to our moral virtues and have to decide between what is right and sometimes what is easy. In such cases, whom do we look to as a standard or role model?
Individual Responsibility
Anderson warned that, “Blind obedience to a corrupt culture has serious consequences.” Ours is the responsibility to ensure that our culture — in politics and in business — is free of corruption. We best do this by adhering to ethical standards ourselves and ensuring that those in power are trustworthy and committed to upholding the law.
As Spiderman’s uncle Ben Parker stated, “With great power comes great responsibility.” The modern deception detection technology available to us gives us great power to weed out corruption and place in positions of leadership those that we trust can be our heroes.
