I have spent my adult life in the business world, most of it working for large corporations. Each of them felt it necessary to require their employees at all levels of management attend ethics classes. Throughout my career I have attended several of these training sessions and found each covered the same information that I had always considered common sense. Almost daily business news and firsthand experience demonstrates the necessity of these classes that attempt to teach the minimums of ethical behavior but it is a sad commentary on our society that so many just do not seem to grasp the concept.

The very basis of civilization is common rules of behavior that we live by. These rules have evolved along with the society but in their essence, they define how we treat each other. We continue to try to codify these rules into laws but each law weakens their structure. The laws can only define minimums and when these minimums are defined many people act as if the minimums are in fact the maximums that are required of them. More and more laws are past and regulations are written but the struggle to live peacefully in community seems to get more difficult each day.

When I was a small child I spent time in conversation with my grandfather. He was both a farmer and general contractor to make ends meet. He would talk about the challenges he faced in bringing a crop to market or in building a new home for a neighbor. He explained how much trust went into any relationship. He had to trust the products and supplies he purchased were of good quality and measured accurately, and his suppliers had to trust that he would pay the agreed price on time. When he delivered his crop or his construction project he had to trust that he would be paid fairly for his efforts. His customers trusted that his crop was wholesome or his construction was done to the best of his ability. He stressed over and over that honesty was at the core of this mutual trust and a hand shake was as good as any written contract because in the end all we ever had was the trust that our dealings were done in an honest manner. Being a religious man he would point to a quote that he felt defined all ethical behavior, it was simply “to treat everyone as you would like him or her to treat you”.

Some will say that the world is much more complex today or that to live you must be a realist not an idealist. Whenever we express these or similar thoughts, are we just looking for reasons for not acting the way we know we should? I have never met a person I could not trust but I’ve met many who did not believe they could be trusted.

A Darden