Michael L. Fischler of Holderness is a professor emeritus of Counselor Education and School Psychology at Plymouth State University. He founded the university’s Counseling and Human Relations Center, which he directed for 40 years, and taught courses on comparative culture and diversity for 50 years.
It’s election season, and time to choose the candidates we support as media outlets saturate the airwaves with ads that denigrate each prominent candidate’s character.
These well-crafted ads create one-dimensional caricatures of complex human beings, making it difficult to identify what information, if any, to attend to. Further complicating the process of choosing a candidate is our tendency to favor anyone whose beliefs affirm our preexisting biases. These biases act as “heuristics,” mental shortcuts enabling us to make quick decisions and avoid the stress of having to “think critically.” We humans are dissonant reductive creatures, and unless the stakes are high avoid critical thinking and simply allow our biases to direct our behavior.
While it can be risky to decide anything heuristically, that risk can be moderated (or even eliminated) when our heuristic decisions are based on time-tested, widely endorsed wisdom traditions.
These wisdom traditions provide us with behavioral directives that contribute toward our adaptive abilities to prosper, bond, gain security and survive. Further, these same behavioral directives are found to exist in similar forms, in widely diverse cultures. The diverse appeal of these behavioral principles enables them to function as ethical guideposts, guiding the behavior of diverse groups of people as they face life’s challenges.
Now let’s move from theory to practice, and for you to use some of the ethical guideposts (guiding ethical principles) to consider whether endorsing a particular candidate may facilitate your (and your culture’s) ability to “bond, prosper, attain security and survive.”
Start by choosing a candidate you’re considering voting for. Read each of the following ethical guideposts and determine if your candidate’s observed behaviors, policies, and values reflect the ethical principle central to the guidepost. If it does, check it off, and if it doesn’t leave it blank.
“My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.” (The Dalai Lama)
“Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.” (Christianity)
“A bird that you set free may be caught again, but a word that escapes your lips will not return.” (Judaism)
“A wise person is good to people who are good. She is also good to people who are not good. This is true goodness.” (Lao Tzu)
“When you hear something malicious about someone, keep a favourable view about him/ her until you attain full knowledge about the matter. Consider others innocent until they are proven guilty with solid and truthful evidence.” (Islam)
“If your plan is for one year, plant rice. If your plan is for 10 years plant trees. If your plan is for 100 years educate children.” (Confucius)
“If you are afraid, change your way.” (Inuit)
“Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws.” (Plato)
“Force no matter how concealed begets resistance.” (Lakota)
“To know, is to know that you know nothing. That is the meaning of true knowledge.” (Socrates)
“I would rather make mistakes in kindness and compassion than work miracles in unkindness and hardness.” (Mother Theresa)
“I don’t need a friend who changes when I change and who nods when I nod; my shadow does that much better.” (Plutarch)
“If you are not a better person tomorrow than you are today, what need have you for a tomorrow?” (Judaism)
From what you’ve discovered through reflecting on the ethical guideposts above, would your candidate facilitate your (and your culture’s) ability to adapt (i.e., to bond, prosper, attain security and survive)? How has your determination affected your motivation to trust and endorse your candidate?
Next, look at yourself. Consider the extent to which your own beliefs and behaviors reflect the ethical guideposts you’re utilizing in judging another. In what ways do you need to change if you are to gain the trust and endorsement of others?
In closing, consider the implications of the wisdom traditions below as they apply to your life:
“You should enjoin right conduct on others but mend your own ways first. Actions speak louder than words. You must first practice good deeds yourself, then preach.” (Islam)
“We will be known forever by the tracks we leave. (Santee Sioux)
“What you offer you will get back. If you feel hatred, the hate boomerangs back. If you offer love, it will be returned. As you give, so shall you receive.” (Roger Walsh)