Play Fair
Two recent articles interested me. One, from a newspaper, argued from a recent study of monkey behavior that morality may be genetic. That is, a sense of fair play, honesty, ethics generally may be inborn in all of us. The other, from the alumni magazine of a major university, reports widespread and growing incidents of cheating at the university, notwithstanding general recognition that cheating was wrong. The students who noticed cheating generally did nothing about it and there is apparently no adverse social consequence to cheating. Although the students accepted intellectually that cheating is wrong they did little to deter it. Read together, these articles suggest a major cultural problem: Our society is somehow teaching, if not encouraging, cheating, overcoming genetic morality. Respondents to a survey blamed politicians, movies, television, even the internet for the growth in cheating.
All of these possible causes may be relevant. Yet there has to be something more: Every era has had visible examples of cheating and over many years both fiction and non-fiction describe cheating. In other eras, cheating was a disgrace, something to be stamped out. In the past, cheating was rare and condemned if discovered. People of the past didn't argue that visible examples of cheating excused it. Now people seek to excuse misconduct by saying everyone's doing it, if not in real life in movies. Something has happened recently that tells people anything goes so long as it produces victory. That the end justifies means has become a credo for some people.
I think the internet may be a cause. It's not only that the internet provides examples of and opportunities for cheating, but that it produces unrealistic expectations of speed. The internet, with its speed in producing results, and other similar technological advances, makes us think that the human brain and body should also work faster. But as best as I can tell, the brain and body work with the same speed as they always have done. The internet hasn't changed that. And I believe that the expectation of speed makes it easier for people to accept cheating, to do anything necessary to achieve it. Pressure to perform in this way causes people to cut corners, to avoid regular process in a struggle to reach a quick result.
If I'm right, the solution is simple. Slow down. Accept that process is more important than result, that doing something correctly is more important than doing it fast. In most cases, we're vaguely disappointed when we reach a goal so we must enjoy getting there if we're to have any pleasure in life. Pride in accomplishment requires us to have accomplished within the rules, to have done things correctly. As is so often true, golf is the model: The rules are paramount, playing the game correctly is the most important value. Anything else is playing some other game and of no value in golf.
When we play by the rules, we'll feel better about ourselves, we'll set an example for others and we'll honor out genetic heritage. Play fair. Others will see that and try to play fair themselves. We'll all be better off.
10-20-03
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