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Jabari Smith Mr. Baucher Service Learning Period 6

Code of Ethics

A wise man once said, A man is defined by his actions, and what are his actions based on, but his ethics. Where does he stand? Here is where I stand. I believe in five major principles. We should love everyone, and do what is best for everyone. All human life is sacred and priceless. It should be preserved beyond any other resource we have. Justice is entitled to all who choose to use it, unless they choose mercy, grace, and forgiveness. I believe that the Bible is a gift to man, to guide us in the right path, and it is the source to all my beliefs. As I previously stated, I was born and raised a Seventh-Day Adventist Christian, and I follow the teachings that are taught in the Bible. Raised in a Christian home gave me the moral compass that made me into the man I am today. In addition to that, I have gone to 8 years of private Christian schools, I have a deep understanding of the Bible, and I completely understand why I believe anything that I believe. My parents raised me in a home where I was completely responsible for all my actions, teaching me responsibility was an important factor in my moral growth. It taught me how my actions directly affected others and theirs me, and I was responsible for the outcome of every choice I made, and was morally obligated to do the right thing.

I found myself jumping in between stages four/five and six on Kohlbergs theory of moral development. During my sophomore year, I, sadly, was more spiritual than I am now. I found myself thinking about the value and meaning of life and how I can everyday do my best to help others. I reasoned solely on the principle that the right choice, was the choice provided the most positive outcome of life in the eyes of God. Now, I am more in between stages five and four of Kohlbergs scale. I reason, that the right decision should be for the best of everyone, and above all provide ensure that justice is served, and is upheld for all. The biggest shift in my way of thinking, that placed me in stage 4/5, was my value for human life. I now view life is sacred, and should be defended, as long as justice is served, making the biggest shift from original view that mercy and forgiveness are subjective, and are not always necessary. Civil virtue, to me, is a upholding the common good for all your fellow countrymen, in the way to strengthen your society and make a better community. Good citizens are neither selfish citizens nor lazy citizens. They are the type of citizens who care about their community on any scale. If they care about their community by keeping their house in order, then that is how they are good citizens. If they care about their community by feeding the homeless, or cleaning the freeway they too are good citizens. A good citizen care about his community on a grand or minor scale, and as long as they care, and try to change it for the better, they are good. The value of civic virtue is priceless. The change that one man can do cannot be measure. We are all mountains of untapped potential, and once we erupt, the reward of our actions can be farther stretching then our lifetimes. The other day, I received a check of $37.74. When I went to Wells Fargo to cash it, the ATM misread my deposited for $377.40. For a brief moment in time, I was tempted to accept the machines confusion, and take roughly ten times what I had originally deserved, but I declined the

check, deposited the money again, and got the correct value. My main reason for not accepting the money was getting caught. I was receiving the check as a refund from Proactive, a large company, and was not eager to face a law suit or any charges that could follow. Even if I would not have ever gotten caught, I doubt that I would have taken it anyways. The money would not have eased the guilt I would have suffered from if I would have stolen almost $400. It is extremely important that everyone has a moral and individual code of ethics. It would be better if we all had shared ethics, but that is not the case. We are to try to be the best person, the person the world needs us to be. Humanity is a shared experience, and we are all tied into each other by our actions. Doing what we personally think is right is crucial to survival, because without it, without caring for the wellbeing of someone else, what would we be, less than animals? Ethics define us, our behavior, lives, and actions. We are always to strive for perfection, and let love rule. Love is the greatest thing we have. It feeds the poor, heals the sick, shelters the homeless and gives the broken hearted life anew. The day humans stop loving to live, and start living to love, that is the day we will have reached our full potential. That is what this assignment has taught me. What the world needs now, is love, sweet love.