“In edgy times, economically and morally, people focus more on what’s owed to them as a right than on what they owe others as a responsibility.” So comments Rushworth Kidder in yesterday’s article on his Global Ethics website. It is entitled Local Mosque, Global Responsibility and deals with the controversy surrounding the proposed mosque in New York near what Americans call “ground zero”. I recommend this article to anyone teaching ethics, as it urges a shift of perspective from the narrowly blinkered view of personal demands to a broader view which includes others and their needs and rights as well. It also invites a discussion on what “rights” are and how the significant ethical and political concept of human rights can be applied and misapplied.
Kidder concludes, “I’d note that while ethics is certainly about standing for conscience, it’s also about bringing others along with patience and gentleness. Surely, of all our universal responsibilities, the duty to build a better world — in practice as well as in theory — stands paramount.” Yes. Thank you, Mr. Kidder.
