From a recent posting ... Pretty darn far down the slippery slope here aren't we Bob? You don't ask if a person has integrity, only if his value system is compatible with yours? So the strongest statement you're willing to make about a thief, rapist or murderer is that their value system is simply incompatible with you value system? Well I should hope to shout. You don't have to be God (what's up with this deit From a recent posting … Pretty darn far down the slippery slope here aren’t we Bob? You don’t ask if a person has integrity, only if his value system is compatible with yours? So the strongest statement you’re willing to make about a thief, rapist or murderer is that their value system is simply incompatible with you value system? Well I should hope to shout. You don’t have to be God (what’s up with this deity stuff?) to know what is right and wrong, at least for the big issues. Every society since the cave man has had an operative moral code and enforced it in one way or another.Perhaps we’re talking about larger issues than typically occur in the workplace, but I don’t think so. There is always a value system in place, but there is a continuum of responses to acts outside of the value system. Murder, rape and theft are pretty much condemned in all settings. An affair with a married individual is probably just as destructive in any workplace, but reacted to more strongly in some settings such as on a church staff.The fact that it may be ignored or even condoned in some settings does not make it morally correct. Society as a whole considers this destructive behavior for a reason – it tears down the social fabric that binds us together into a cohesive and functioning society. What would happen in the workplace if no one paid any attention to moral issues? How would any medium size company operate if every single employee were on the make all the time and ignored the fact that most of the people in the company were married? I think it would affect them just as badly as if every employee chose to steal from the company or the other employees.Please reconsider your position. Bob says, Well, we agree that this is relevant to the workplace. That’s probably all we agree on.I think you need to read more about the diversity of cultures on this earth. As I mentioned, Robin Hood was a thief and we teach children that he was the hero of the story. More to the point, some cultures consider murder to be completely normal. Many have condoned rape. Heck – it was the expected outcome of conquest throughout most of history. Or doesn’t that count? The British aristocracy, with marriages arranged so as to cement alliances, considered infidelity to be nothing more than a way to deal with this political reality.The Judeo-Christian Bible condones slavery. Jesus his own self provided rules under which it would be considered moral. It happens I disagree with Jesus on this one, although most people, even non-Christians, consider him to have been a pretty decent sort, all in all.So I’m quite comfortable saying that thievery, murder and rape are incompatible with my personal system of values and leaving the morality of it there. Since they’re also illegal, I’m quite happy to be able to add that the rest of society is in consensus on these points; they’re incompatible with our society. Spewing huge amounts of toxic chemicals into the environment where they’re sure to kill many people and debilitate many more is also incompatible with my personal system of values. Congress is considering making exactly this behavior entirely legal under its “cap-and-trade” policy. Should this law pass, I can assert that it’s immoral all I want and it won’t mean a thing. After all, quite a few self-proclaimed (and evidently devout) Christians are in favor of it. Both sides can claim the moral high ground all they want without persuading a soul.So if it’s illegal I can encourage enforcement. Otherwise I can decide whether it’s compatible with my own values or not, and if not what I’m willing to do about it. I figure that means I take personal responsibility for my system of values, and encourage others to take responsibility for theirs.It’s the alternative – proclaiming that whatever culture I happen to have been raised in is, somehow, the keeper of the cosmic definitions of good and evil – that I consider to be the slippery slope. Or as The Rev. Paul V. Marshall, Bishop of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, put it, “There’s nothing more damaging to the soul than a too intense concern with other people’s sins.” ——– Technology Industry