I *heart* Anna Quindlen

Anna Quindlen always says exactly what I want to say, but much better than I could ever say it. As the headlines blast yet another newspaper scandal, read what she has to say in her column about ethics in journalism.

My own thoughts on the subject:
Before we start doling out judgments, we should take a moment to reflect on whether our own lives would stand up to the scrutiny of the front page. How ethical are we in our own work? Can we truthfully say that we’ve never done anything deceptive and unethical to get ahead at work? Have we never been less than truthful to impress someone? Have we never embellished on your resume or in an interview?

Jayson Blair and Jack Kelley were wrong to do what they did. And, depending on your point of view, either very daring or very stupid for doing it at such prominent newspapers. And, yes, the editors probably should have caught onto the scam sooner than they did. But probably most of us have something we are hiding from our supervisors. I hope that mine doesn’t find out that I spend most my day surfing the Internet and posting to this blog.

But is the furor over Blair's and Kelley's actions really in proportion to the crime? I read somewhere (wish I could remember where to give proper credit) that the trait you most despise in your enemy is the trait you most despise in yourself. Perhaps we are making such a fuss over these reporters because we see the same tendency in ourselves---to use deceit as a way to get ahead---and want to draw a line in the sand between us and them. I might tell a white lie, but I would never do that! That’s just too much.

But that is just moral relativism.