In response to my post Two Approaches to Dirty Laundry, a friend of mine shared a link to this podcast, all about the ethics of whistleblowing:
https://hiddenbrain.org/pod.../when-doing-right-feels-wrong/
I found this podcast very helpful and relevant, and am sharing my reactions to it here. (I originally wrote this as a facebook comment in reply to her, but I'm including it here for those not on fb.)
This podcast was fascinating. As I listened to it, I was struck by so many thoughts I started writing them down.
1) I appreciate the reminder that there are multiple pillars of morality (e.g. loyalty vs. honesty). Mickey appreciated Jonathan Haidt's book (The Righteous Mind) about that. This helps me be more sympathetic to those who opposed our open letter, to realize that perhaps they are prioritizing loyalty.
2) This distinction helps me identify the mixed emotions I have each time I post about Bethlehem. I post for the sake of honesty, but I still feel a slight pang of disloyalty to the church/elders each time I post. It's helpful for me to label that emotion.
3) I feel angry at the elders, that they are creating these moral dilemmas for people at Bethlehem. Congregants should not have to choose between loyalty to church leaders and honesty about problems!
4) I liked how at the end, they reframed the loyalty vs. honesty tension by showing that whistleblowing is actually a form of loyalty to fellow humans, to the greater good, and to society.
5) I agree that our values are shaped by our culture. That echoes teaching I've heard about law/guilt vs. honor/shame cultures. Likewise, I think our values are also shaped by organizational culture. That's one reason I was so grieved by the way Pastor Kenny Stokes talked publicly about our open letter. By comparing it to a witch hunt, referencing a disdain in the broader culture toward authority, saying our letter was unbiblical because it goes against Paul's commands against lawsuits, he reinforces loyalty over honesty. And hearing a lead pastor say that from the front shapes the Bethlehem culture.
6) As I pondered the idea that Bethlehem culture is prioritizing loyalty, at first I was surprised. I would have expected that such a doctrine-heavy church would skew more toward honesty. But Mickey pointed out that loyalty (to church family? to familiar elders? to John Piper? to the Bethlehem brand? to the perceived good that Bethlehem is doing? to the sense that Bethlehem does things right?) is strong. So maybe that helps tip the scales toward loyalty. I need to ponder this more.
7) This quote seems very relevant:
26:30 "To the extent to which you believe that your organization has a bigger social mission ... (police, military, Boyscouts, Catholic church)...indeed these are mission-driven organizations, the conflict [whether or not to be a whistleblower] might be lessened for you because you might say, 'the reason why I'm not going to report wrongdoing is that that would weaken our organization and so really, what the greater good is for me, is that our organization thrives, so that we can do the good work that we do.' That might explain why within those organizations, you're saying that your purpose is socially driven, and that then gives you license to engage in potentially less ethical behavior.. It's a phenomenon called moral licensing...where if you think of yourself as having a certain level of morality, then it licenses you to be less moral in other dimensions."
8. This quote seems like a great next step for organizations:
"For some people, the most loyal thing you can do for your organization is to call out bad behavior when you see it. I wish more organizations and CEOs put forth that message, that part of what it means to be a good citizen is 'we call each other out. Don't take it personally, but we call out bad behavior.' That's a way to communicate a loyalistic message without curbing people's desire to do the right thing and blow the whistle."
Thank you for sharing this podcast.
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