Ok. Imagine for a moment that there is a person who has done something wrong. It doesn't matter what it is - it could run the gamut from the ethically unsound to the criminally felonious. In any event, the wrongdoing would surely, if exposed, be a cause of public embarrassment, with potentially far-reaching negative repercussions for the culprit and his or her associates.Now, say that this person has become increasingly aware that his or her nefarious actions were indeed in danger of being exposed.
What would such a person do?
Personally, I wonder if our hypothetical malefactor might attempt to cooperate to an uncharacteristic degree. Perhaps efforts would be made to improve his or her public persona. I suppose it's possible they could even attempt to generate some sympathy.
I think it's likely that he or she might also attempt to deflect attention from themselves by shining a spotlight on another individual, one who may be involved in a similar wrongdoing but to a greater degree.
And, if our transgressor were really anxious about being exposed, I don't suppose it would be out of the realm of possibility for them to attempt to dilute their own involvement by locating others, some minor players perhaps, on whom to place (or manufacture) blame.
Remember, this is just a thought question. But I'd like to hear what you think.
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9 comments:
A great philosophical question on a snowy day!
The famous quote
"Oh what a tangled web we weave, When first we practice to deceive” by Sir Walter Scott
comes to mind.
Once you get on that slippery slope of lying, exaggerating, misleading, and attempting to conceal wrongdoing, contradictions always risk your disclosure.
What is interesting is those that tell lies using meaningless justifications, for instance, simply to discredit someone. There will always be the gullible lacking the intellectual capacity to discern the truth.
The following is credited to Abraham Lincoln -
"You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time."
Those who don't believe the perpetrator, catch the contradictions in his/her tales or just intuitively recognize his/her nature, will disbelieve from the beginning.
I have known several people who were pathological liars. Because they lacked the memory to remember all of those lies, they can't maintain long term relationships or they would risk exposure.
This is credited to G.W. Bush and explains his many lies and maybe even WMD -
“You can fool some of the people all the time, and those are the ones you want to concentrate on.”
Self-preservation in the end predominates over any perceived "loyalty" based on a foundation of lies.
A wrongdoing would need to be concealed, hence the need to lie.
Lying always causes a loss of faith when uncovered, regardless of its size.
And it causes secrecy that jeopardizes relationships.
I took a philosophy course in Ethics and the most important thing I took away from that course was the need to reconsider your 'ethics' and personal beliefs periodically throughout life. Sometimes we accepted something as a youngster that might have created the foundation of our beliefs. When we achieve adulthood, we discover that the belief was untrue. Many people can't handle the contradiction or fail to amend the construction erected on the faulty foundation.
He who flees from trial confesses his guilt.
(SYRUS)
When a man points a finger at someone else, he should remember that three of his fingers are pointing at himself.
Without the Board of Selectman's co-operation there could not be others involved!!! They opened the door and went even further by putting out the "WELCOME" mat.
Gladys, You have really hit the nail on the head this time.
4:04 PM
Dishonest people attract dishonest people, don't they?
Maybe some who haven't backed away don't know they were complicit.
Ethical and honest people don't stay around those whose conduct is unacceptable to them.
I had a conversation this weekend with a long distance cousin totally unrelated to the casino and local issues.
She distanced herself from her brother because she didn't approve of his behavior and didn't want the influence on her young children.
She felt that her children would come to believe that she condoned his conduct.
Her brother recently passed away.
His behavior that she found problematic continued until his
death.
How do you weigh family, the influence on children with unethical or illegal behavior that is unacceptable to you?
He was doing drugs and unfaithful to his wife. Lying and illegal activites and other things.
Do you even want that person close to you?
He was caught and lied convincingly a long time ago. Sad life to die without family.
The Wizard of Oz was, after all, a little man hiding behind a curtain.
He projected his voice in such a manner that the good citizens of Oz believed that his booming voice was evidence of his stature.
When the curtain was pulled back, revealed to the world, was a very little man, who told big lies.
The task at hand dear citizens of Middleboro, is to pull the very heavy curtain back and expose the liars.
Then the second task is...replace them.
It will be interesting to see how deep the scandal goes. I actually hope there is no inolvement in Middleborough. We have had enough. If there is no involvement it would prove that those who struck the casino deal were just plain dumb.
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