Ethical Considerations

The second half of the semester is going to be a reading-intensive purview and mentally taxing application of ethics. As I refit my lens I notice I am already observing ethics in action. For instance I saw a fascinating documentary called Long Lance. This is the story the National Film Board of Canada introduces as, "Was he a black man, a white man, or an Indian chief? This documentary looks at legendary and fascinating impostor Chief Buffalo Child Long Lance."


Prior to entering this graduate program I likely would have seen this in a less balanced view, automatically assuming it more black and white than it is; in fact my educated focus is not on blaming the imposter but questioning the organization that produces a man who will lie (with community silence) to escape the racial confines of society.

For me, knowing that Long Lance did not use his notoriety to swindle others out of money or cause deliberate harm helps me see the situation more favorably.  He was a talented writer and made some progress for better treatment of Canadian Indian tribes. It seems his intent was right but his content was wrong, and like many unsuccessful leaders he couldn't figure out why people didn't like him. In the health world of cleansing and detoxing it is a known fact that a person cannot be cleaner than his or her environment. Can leaders authentically be pure in an impure organization?