We talk a lot about values but in real life it would seem that 70% have solid values but 30% couldn't care less. When we move into politics (power) and business (wealth) we find that what we say and do could be a little different (I guess that is the way it is in life in general). The values of thinking about others (and your nation) above yourself is worth more than the short sighted nature of self gain. Nations are built by loyalty to core principles and destroyed by selfishness and lack of values.
Social stability relies on many things but mostly it relies on values. Who we are, what we believe, who we promote, how we decide issues, where we put our resources, and values we profess to hold. The espoused values and the enacted values should be the same. People within our institutions must have positive prosocial values or they put us all at risk.
Espoused values are the values we tell each other we believe in. People say all types of things to get what they want and while most people honestly believe in those things there are many who don't. Much of it is lip service while some of it is heart felt.
Enacted values are the ones that we know to be true even though they may be the same or different than our espoused values. These are the values that become part of our everyday lives and must be followed to effectively work within "the system".
There are times when espoused and enacted values are different. This is where people begin to realize on a subconscious, sometimes conscious level, that this is how things are done in the "real world" are different than what is being said. We see that when college students take an ethics class and then find out once they start their jobs the workplace isn't exactly ethical (Think of whose fault that is and whether or not its a good thing.). We may find that in the legal profession where people with the best lawyers (most money) win or in the political structure where regularly dishonesty gets votes (Radical politics where anything goes!).
This is what I believe and I'm not 100% sure that I always live my espoused values perfectly but I certainly try (I can even be disappointed in myself sometimes but that is the folly of human nature. I think I have done a pretty good job at it...but am not perfect by any means.). If I was hiring someone I might look for a few of the following (doesn't matter the occupation but is even more important for positions of power.)
-Honesty and ethics.
-Innovation and creativity.
-Loyalty and duty.
-Work ethic
-Kindness and humility.
-Courage and politeness.
-Belief in something greater than self.
-The ability to reduce bias and judge fairly
-Critical thinking and evidence based management.
-The ability to work with others.
-Open-minded and the ability to role reverse.
-I'm sure there is more.....
If we want a nation that will succeed the best and brightest with the proper skills must rise. If we want to fail then we will fail by our selfishness and our lack of values. Its a choice that our leaders must decide....even if some of them aren't truly qualified to make choices over the rest of us.
No comments:
Post a Comment