Legalized Ethics

I have been doing my Minnesota Insurance Agents Continuing Education Ethics seminars around the state and have had some interesting discussions. One thing that was clear to me while doing the research to write the class as well as in receiving the evaluation forms - you can't legislate ethics. The Federal Government as well as the State and I am sure even at other levels have attempted to put laws into place that will force people to act in a certain manner. However, as Forest Gump's mother says, "Stupid is as stupid does." I believe that to be true with anyone. If someone is going to be unethical or has a tendency toward that behavior, I really don't believe the law is going to change that. People weigh the consequences and when they don't believe there are any or they aren't going to be enforced, they may give way to unethical action because it is the easier thing to do or everyone else is doing it.

Even though it is legal does not mean it is ethical. There are many laws on the books that enforce behavior that some people would consider immoral or unethical. In fact, in the trucking industry they have tried to regulate the amount of time a driver can spend driving. The purpose is to keep everyone safe on the roads including the drivers. However, because of construction, congestion, delays in loading/unloading, etc. many drivers feel they can't physically meet the time constraints the government has imposed on their position and still get the job done.  I have heard of this in the medical industry as well where the law puts restrictions on how much time a doctor can work. However, because of the amount of documentation and the fact that someone might come through the emergency room door before your shift ends and the time it takes to get lab results back, these doctors clock out but stay on the job. It is sad to know that people have had to find ways around the laws that really go against their morals, but they feel there is no other solution in order to meet the demands of all stakeholders.

Don't get me wrong - we need laws. However, I really don't think people need to solely rely on our legal system to protect people from themselves or others. We need to get some "common sense" and sense of pride in what we are doing and do things because it is the right thing to do.