Get'em While They're Hot!

I don't think I really have any ethics that are for sale. For me, if something matters enough to take a side, determine a loyalty, I would hope that was it. There is no going back.

But ethics aren't really something we use to replace our values. As I understand it, our code of ethics is what comes into play when values conflict. I think that means there are times one of my values could come up on the auction block--if it challages something that's more important to me. I still don't think that means it's for sale. Selling your ethics means you chuck it all for money or something that isn't of as much value. It has an insider-trading sound to it. It safe to say, this isn't a good thing.

I don't have many moments in my history that I remember my values coming in conflict. Perhaps that means I made the right choice. Instead of selling my ethics, I traded up and picked the things that mattered most. But for those who do sell their ethics, the effect is about the same as not telling the truth. The reporter loses all their credibility if their loyalties aren't where they should be. Part of journalism credibility comes from the idea that journalists are bound by the truth and their loyalty to the people to tell it.