For most of us, the word “ethics” means “stop it!” Jim Carey the lifeguard shouting at a lone bather on SNL. We prefer ethics as a tool, not a cudgel.
When we were kids, adults came out of the blue to tell us to stop doing whatever, questioning our judgement and threatening consequences. Survival strategy: “OK Dad, sorry.” Internal censorship officially installed.
Or you overthink and you never do anything – too much talk, not enough action — analysis paralysis.
Of course, parents must tell kids to stop, set limits. We all learn to conform to our communities, ostracized if we get too weird, called “unethical.”
So ethics becomes a loaded, emotionally charged word. From childhood classrooms to government regulation, “ethics” is often used as a cudgel to keep us in line. These are oppressive, frightening, and suffocating ethics, like punitive “Ethics investigations.”
This site is about positive alternatives to these triggers: ethics as a way of life and work, strengthening community and building value.