By Mary van Tamelen

Ethics expert Kirk O. Hanson makes a point during last week’s Morning Forum lecture. Photo by Mark Leonard.

Kirk O. Hanson, executive director of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University, spoke to Morning Forum members last week on “Reversing the Ethical Crisis in America.”

Twenty-one years ago he spoke before the same group, at that time about teaching business ethics, as he was doing at Stanford University. There have been incidents of ethical misconduct in U.S. history, right from the beginning, but never so many as right now.

This is a critical moment in the ethical character of the United States, evidenced by businesses such as Enron and Arthur Andersen, and most recently Boeing; in churches, particularly the Catholic Church; in sports, with steroid use and lying on resumes; in schools, where 70 percent of college graduates admit cheating; in writing, where even successful writers are found guilty of plagiarism; in political campaigns, especially last-minute hit mailings; and even in government, which selectively presents information and sometimes misleads the citizens.

Why this plethora, and why now? Hanson gave a number of reasons, among them the affluence and convenience of American life. These are expected, and therefore people feel justified in finding a way, any way, to get them. Also, the meaning of life seems to be getting ahead. And this is a world of celebrity; getting attention is an aim.

In our society, Hanson said, winning is everything. This is obvious from the way athletes are celebrated and paid. Furthermore, our world is impersonal, secular and cynical, lacking community spirit (although our Los Altos community is a particular and good exception).

People are busy and irresponsible, plus there is a tolerance for misbehavior. It might well be, as one professor has suggested, that the solution is shame. Hanson said it takes a crisis to bring about change.

For a while, 9/11 seemed to be doing this, but it wasn’t built upon. President Clinton’s first State of the Union message, where he presented a Covenant for America, started out in a promising way, but it, too, became a lost moment.

So how can this ethical dilemma be resolved? It must be done by individuals.

Hanson presented eight challenges:

• Demand integrity of yourself. If you’ve done anything wrong, go back and make it right. Talk about it.

• Demand integrity of those around you. Don’t be tolerant.

• Support integrity systems in business, schools and organizations, setting up codes of behavior.

• Promote the virtue of doing one’s best for the joy of performing, not just winning.

• Promote the virtues of working together.

• Promote a belief in faith, which gives one the strength to deal with adversity.

• Promote a national purpose of relieving suffering. This country should have a national purpose greater than protecting ourselves or getting richer.

• Help extend and promote a sense of the global world. We must be connected. We must care for the environment, for the poor.

So what lies ahead on our ethical path? There is hope for a grass-roots revolution, even though our culture is working against us, Hanson said. Individuals need to be challenged, and leaders must emerge.

“Then we can recover our ethical balance,” he said.

Morning Forum is a members-only lecture series held at the United Methodist Church of Los Altos. To get on a waiting list for membership, write to: Morning Forum, P.O. Box 274, Los Altos 94023-0274.