Interesting Ethical Questions

Question 1 If you knew a woman who was pregnant, who had 8 kids already, three of whom were deaf, two were blind, one mentally retarded, and she had syphilis; would you recommend that she have an abortion? Read the next question before scrolling down to the answer.

Question 2 It is time to elect the world leader, and your vote counts. Here are the facts about the three leading candidates:

Candidate A

Associates with crooked politicians and consults with astrology experts. He's had two mistresses. He is also a chain smokes and drinks 8 to 10 martinis a day.

Candidate B

He was kicked out of office twice, sleeps until noon, used opium in college and drinks a quart of whisky every evening.

Candidate C

He is a decorated war hero. He's a vegetarian, doesn't smoke, drinks an occasional beer and hasn't had any extramarital affairs.

Which of these candidates would be your choice?

Candidate A... is Franklin D. Roosevelt (recently voted by Time Magazine as the Person of the Century-1st runner-up). (The no 1 person is Einstein with Gandhi voted as 2nd runner-up.)

Candidate B... is Winston Churchill Candidate C... is Adolph Hitler

And by the way: Answer to the abortion question -- if you said yes, you just killed Beethoven.

-- Anonymous, April 16, 2001

Answers

1. I wouldn't be the one recommending anything. If a woman in that situation actually *asked* my opinion, I would ask *her* to review her priorities and help her to frame her decision. It's up to her, not me (nor anyone else, certainly.)

2. I also like to think that I judge politicians on the results of their work. I think their staffers actually do the hard work a lot of the time. Being political means how to effectively broker power, not make good decisions, necessarily. If someone is able to pursue their agenda effectively despite some obvious character problems, and I agree with their position, I would tend to consider supporting them. (It's not an ideal world...I have adjusted to being more of a pragmatist.)

I do get upset when people use different standards to judge politicians, though...i.e. when on CS I thought some folks thought Geo. W. was saintly (despite a lot of evidence to the contrary) whereas Al Gore was tainted as the anti-Christ. Both had flaws, but both should have been examined in the same light. I voted for the one who had the best opportunity for getting stuff done, with the agenda that made the most sense to me.

-- Anonymous, April 16, 2001

I agree with everything sheepish said!

I would just add one thing....IMO, she would not have 'killed Beethoven.' If a body with the potential to house a genius as powerful as his were to die, I'm quite certain the Universe would have no trouble providing another one to take its place.

-- Anonymous, April 16, 2001

I get so sick of agreeing with Sheepish!! Here goes. Hey I agree with Sheepish!.....Kirk...P.S. Also right on Earthmother!

-- Anonymous, April 16, 2001

You know, those are all good points, but I do have to point out that you can skew this kind of a quiz to take it where you want. For example:

A young middle-class couple, with the husband working as a civil servant and a background in work ethics are expecting their first- born. Both parents are in good health.

Would you abort this baby?

If not, you just let Adolph Hitler live.

I didn't come up with this one, a friend of mine pointed it out, as an example of how to bend data to say what you want, working on emotions.

Who was it that said "Politics is the last refuge of scoundrels"...? Thomas Jefferson?

-- Anonymous, April 17, 2001