Early results/responses from individuals taking the course, Introduction to Ethical Issues on Indian Reservations, are coming in and they continue to prove our hypothesis. (A hypothesis is a statement that is assumed to be true for the sake of argument). Not only are these individuals aware of unethical issues in the reservation workforce and political atmosphere, but they would like to see "someone" do something about them. Several of them complimented "yours truly" on my efforts to address the subject.
Now that these individuals have taken the course, they will be faced with a dilemma of "knowing more they want to know." Let me explain... years ago, while in the Marine Corp, I underwent a six weeks in-house treatment for alcoholism. Although I eventually returned to drinking, a counselor made a statement that "haunted" me until the day I quit drinking for good. He said something to the effect, "you can no longer return to drinking after you leave here without the knowledge that you are an alcoholic." He went on to say, "every time you pick up a can of beer, a shot of whiskey, or any other alcoholic drink, you will do so with the knowledge that it will eventually hurt you, your family, and people close to you." He finished with, "for some of you, this knowledge will eventually lead you to stop drinking."
The counselor was right. My knowledge of alcoholism and the harm it caused me and my family led me to honestly examine my own drinking behavior. However, I needed to do more than think about my drinking problem. I needed to take action. I eventually did take the huge step to decide to quit drinking. A decision I would not have made without my knowledge of alcoholism.
Now that the participants of the Intro course officially have the knowledge of what is unethical workplace behavior and the harm it can do to the reservation, they cannot use ignorance, or the "everyone is doing it" phrase, as an excuse for doing nothing.
The next step for them to take is to honestly examine their own ethics. Once they examine their ethics, they need to take action to change them. Because you cannot change your values just by thinking about them, you need to take action. There are a lot of terms to describe "not taking action" to improve your character: intellectualization, rumination, and procrastination. However, I would call it hypocrisy (the false claim to or pretence of having admirable principles, beliefs, or feelings).
There are many self-help books out there that outline specific strategies to improve a person's character. In my opinion, most of them are too long, a couple of hundred pages, and/or too complicated to be effective. What I recommend for you to do if you truly want to improve your character is to apply the four values: courage, honesty, perseverance, and generosity to all aspects of your life.
Now that these individuals have taken the course, they will be faced with a dilemma of "knowing more they want to know." Let me explain... years ago, while in the Marine Corp, I underwent a six weeks in-house treatment for alcoholism. Although I eventually returned to drinking, a counselor made a statement that "haunted" me until the day I quit drinking for good. He said something to the effect, "you can no longer return to drinking after you leave here without the knowledge that you are an alcoholic." He went on to say, "every time you pick up a can of beer, a shot of whiskey, or any other alcoholic drink, you will do so with the knowledge that it will eventually hurt you, your family, and people close to you." He finished with, "for some of you, this knowledge will eventually lead you to stop drinking."
The counselor was right. My knowledge of alcoholism and the harm it caused me and my family led me to honestly examine my own drinking behavior. However, I needed to do more than think about my drinking problem. I needed to take action. I eventually did take the huge step to decide to quit drinking. A decision I would not have made without my knowledge of alcoholism.
Now that the participants of the Intro course officially have the knowledge of what is unethical workplace behavior and the harm it can do to the reservation, they cannot use ignorance, or the "everyone is doing it" phrase, as an excuse for doing nothing.
The next step for them to take is to honestly examine their own ethics. Once they examine their ethics, they need to take action to change them. Because you cannot change your values just by thinking about them, you need to take action. There are a lot of terms to describe "not taking action" to improve your character: intellectualization, rumination, and procrastination. However, I would call it hypocrisy (the false claim to or pretence of having admirable principles, beliefs, or feelings).
There are many self-help books out there that outline specific strategies to improve a person's character. In my opinion, most of them are too long, a couple of hundred pages, and/or too complicated to be effective. What I recommend for you to do if you truly want to improve your character is to apply the four values: courage, honesty, perseverance, and generosity to all aspects of your life.
