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Have you ever encountered yourself in an apparently lose-lose situation? Have you had to single out between being loyal to your friend and being honest? Have you had to choose between what is right and what is accessible? The word 'ethics' is closely related to words such as 'good', 'moral', 'virtues', and 'principles'. Ethics illustrate how a person should behave by providing a way to choose between conflicting options. It is a state of ethical dilemma when you have to choose between right and wrong without considering your desires. Within our society, we have to deal with ethical dilemmas daily. Definitely, one has to make a choice. Although the choice comes with more than one solution, our decision must be for the sake of our ethical values and the good of society as a whole. Recently, within the past year, I was faced with a moral and ethical dilemma that forced me to choose between honesty and loyalty, and the result of that choice has been my ultimate guide in all my decisions since that time.
At the time of the incident, I worked as a teacher's assistant during the first term of school. The dilemma I faced involved a friend who was an assistant to another teacher in the same department. We tended to see each other on many occasions, and as time passed, the two of us had become close friends during the course of the term. One time, while I was busily organizing some papers for my teacher, I saw my friend photocopying one test paper and quickly hiding it in his bag. When I asked him about his action, he begged me not to tell the teacher and that he did this for his young sister who was struggling in this subject and needed it badly to raise her grades. As a friend, I tried to warn and convince him to tear off the paper because stealing is an immoral act. Also, the teachers trusted us to be decent and honest assistants. However, he didn’t listen and asked me to keep it a secret. Usually, I am a simply sympathetic person and I am proud of my loyalty to friends. I am devoted to those close to me and deeply within my heart I wanted to keep this incident between me and my friend. However, if there is one thing in life I value most, it is honesty. I was really suffering from this ethical dilemma. Should I be loyal to my friend and protect him by keeping his secret? Or should I be honest and tell my teacher about what he did? I did try to convince him to do this, but he didn’t listen. So, is it his own fault? But what if telling the teacher causes him trouble? What if I lose his friendship? Will I be called a snitch? I know that stealing the papers or anything in general is a misdeed. So, if I ignore what my friend did, will I be doing something good? Will I be conflicting with my own beliefs? Will I be ignoring my value of honesty?
I spent some hours trying to figure out what the right action that I had to take should be, and yes, I reached the right solution. I am always loyal to my friends and to the people whom I love, but I can't help but be honest. It would be easier to ignore what my friend did and to let everything go smoothly. However, making the easier decision is not always the best decision for the sake of those around us. Ignoring, in this case, will result in my friend’s continuous involvement in misdeeds in the future. He should learn that stealing isn’t right. He should learn that it is immoral to do such an action with a teacher who puts her trust in us. Moreover, the most crucial result is that in the future I will personally find reasons to jeopardize my ethical values for the sake of any reason. Yes, this is what I cared about and wanted to safeguard. It is my ethical value, honesty. One’s moral code acts as a guide for his behavior and decision-making. Therefore, ethics do and should always play an essential role in our decision-making. Hence, I decided to do the right thing and tell the teacher of what my friend did.
My friend apologized to the teacher and promised to change. I was glad that I did what I believed in and valued. In fact, an ethical dilemma of doing the right thing might be a very critical state for us, but still, we can manage it by exerting some effort. We should keep one thing clear in mind our ethics should not be bargained. In this way, all the situations could easily be handled by us no matter how difficult and personal it is. Proper and ethical decisions need to be made between right and wrong. I hope to always be a model for others, and being ethical is the keystone of presenting a good model for others. ‘Actions speak louder than words’ proves to be related to ethics. I aim to show people what my moral principles are based on my actions. At times, it can get strenuous because emotions might cloud my judgment, but in the end, doing the right thing is most crucial to me.
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