3.00 Introduction to Ethics

Ethics: moral principles that govern a person's or group's behavior.

Ethics is what drives us to do most things; whether it's washing the car for our parents because the dirt would make it dangerous to drive, or leading a protest against a wronging in the U.S. Supreme Court. It is the reason for our decision, no matter how harmless or dangerous it may be. It has to do with our character and how we were raised. A person with strong religious beliefs might think not washing the car is a sin. A democrat may believe protesting only makes the matter worse. In the end, ethics is what makes up our thought process.

To be ethical means you have morals (something everybody should have). Without morals we could be compared to savages or uncivilized beings. As children, most of us were taught right from wrong. We were punished for sticking our hand in the cookie jar before dinner. Praised for completing our homework earlier than usual. But it isn't always simple to tell what is right from wrong when we are faced with arguments for both sides. To me, being an ethical person means taking both sides into consideration and reasoning before coming up with a decision. This conclusion is based off of logic and reasoning itself. When homosexual couples asked for permission to marry, religious groups naturally but impulsively responded negatively without further questioning. This was wrong of them and we all knew it. The government knew it and tossed their input aside for lack of reasoning. Others decided to look into it and pull up the facts for the people to compare and contrast themselves. They stayed neutral about it. Then there were people who weighed it out before deciding upon their decision. These people were ethical about it and their input is what counted towards gay marriage legalization (in most states).

Ethics apply to journalism too. Most of these ethical people who responded to matters such as they gay marriage legalization were bloggers, editors, and writers. You can't print a story based on your morals because that isn't being fair. To be ethical you have to take all sides into consideration and weigh them out based on what would obviously be best for society. If the issue doesn't have an obviously right decision, the journalist is still subject to pulling up the facts so that we can come up with a decision for ourselves. The Code of Ethics plays a big role in news presentation because if it wasn't there, journalists could write about their personal beliefs and make other who read or listen believe that those are the facts. Imagine what chaos that would ensue.