ParaNet BBS/ethics

ParaNet BBS/ethics

File Name:	ethics.txt
Author:	Unknown
Date:	Unknown
Posting BBS:	Unknown
BBS Main Page:	ParaNet Main Page
Key Words:	ParaNet, UFO, Ufology

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ParaNet File Number: 00129


DATE OF UPLOAD:  September 10, 1989
ORIGIN OF UPLOAD:  ParaNet Alpha/Denver, Colorado
CONTRIBUTED BY:  Sally Sheridan
========================================================
                        WHY ETHICS MATTER
                            AN ESSAY
                               BY
                         SALLY SHERIDAN

     Are  we  about to live through extraordinary  times  in  the
history of mankind?
     Let's assume for a moment that we are.
     The rumors and tone of the UFO literature have become deadly
serious.  It isn't much fun to be a UFO investigator anymore.
     I  keep thinking about the people living in  Western  Europe
during  the Nazi Era; the people living in Amsterdam at the  time
Anne Frank's family was hiding.  I wonder if I would have had the
courage to hide them.  I think about that a lot.
     These  days we scrutinize the behavior of people  who  lived
through that time.  We praise and admire the ones who did not.
     I believe we investigators may be living through a time when
similarly  enormous stresses and, yes, dangers may  threaten  us.
And  for  that reason I think we all should think  about  how  we
should proceed.  I think we all should think about how far we are
willing to go to get credit for the Big Story.
     Here is a quiz to measure your Ethics Quotient.

     Question:   How far would you go if you could be  reasonably
certain  of being the investigator who would get the  credit  for
finally breaking the UFO mystery?
     A.  BETRAYAL
          1.   Would  you betray a stranger or  an  acquaintance?
(for example, divulging a name you promised to keep secret?)
          2.  Would you betray a close friend?
          3.  Would you betray another investigator?
          4.  Would you betray a member of your family?
     B.   RISKING HARM (physical, emotional, financial  or  other
forms of harm)
          5.   Would you risk possible harm to a stranger  or  an
acquaintance?
          6.  Would you risk possible harm to a close friend?
          7.    Would   you  risk  possible   harm   to   another
investigator?
          8.   Would you risk possible harm to a member  of  your
family?
     C.   CAUSING HARM (physical, emotional, financial  or  other
forms of harm)
          9.    Would  you  CAUSE  harm  to  a  stranger  or   an
acquaintance?
          10.  Would you CAUSE harm to a close friend?
          11.  Would you CAUSE harm to another investigator?
          12.  Would you CAUSE harm to a member of your family?

     SCORING

     There  is  only one right answer.  NO to all  of  the  above
without any equivocation!

     CONCLUSION
     Whatever  the  future  holds,  we  must  experience  it   as
decently,  as  ethically as we possibly can.  I believe  that  no
secret, not even this one, is so important that we have to get to
it by stepping on our brothers and sisters.
     No  times  are so stressful that it  becomes  acceptable  to
betray, risk or knowingly cause harm to a fellow human being.
     At the beginning of this essay I assumed that we are  living
through,  or are about to live through, extraordinary  times.   I
really do not know if this assumption is true.
     What  if  it is not?  What if none  of  the  Lear-Bennewitz-
Cooper-Moore-"aliens  making deals with the government"  material
is true?
     What  if the world just goes on with its  mundane  problems?
Then, if we've justified answering "yes" to any part of the quiz,
we've betrayed, risked, and/or caused harm to others for NOTHING.
     Either way, if its real or if its not, ethics matter because
living   in  dangerous  times  does  not  excuse  us   from   the
responsibility and the obligation to act ethically.

=================================================================

Sally Sheridan is an investigator for the Center for UFO  Studies
and is also the MUFON Section Director for Yuma County,  Arizona.
She  is also a special contributor to ParaNet.  She is  currently
researching  the connection between UFOs and the Tibetan  culture
as reflected in Tibetan Buddhist teachings.