Blog #4 Moral Muteness

Far too often, I keep my thoughts to myself. Whether it be in a group setting or one-on-conversations, I refrain from making comments that might not be received well by the other party. I often struggle with moral muteness because I do not want to stir up trouble or be the odd person out. 

I serve as the Internal Vice Chair of the Politics, Society and Law Scholars. One of my tasks involves maintaining the attendance and determining if members have met the membership requirements to maintain scholars status. One of the members of the advisory board texted me saying that she would be missing a required meeting and wanted me to sign her in anyways. She explained that she had another meeting and was super busy. I struggled for a while about how to handle the situation. I wouldn't consider her a friend, but I still felt awkward saying no. She clearly was not acting according to any moral standards and was asking me to do the same. I simply chose not to respond and pretend like I never saw the message.

Obviously, I engaged in moral muteness. I could have easily explained that signing her in would violate the trust that our program coordinator and the other members put in me. It would be disrespectful to the other members who were putting in the effort to maintain their scholars standing. Furthermore, it is unethical to lie for one's self gain. I took the easy way out by pretending I didn't see the message. I was afraid that it would be awkward the next time I saw her if I said no or brought up how unethically she was behaving. I believe in integrity and honesty, and should have been more true to those values. While I didn't explicitly lie and sign her in, I also did not act fully on those values. I should be outright in maintaining integrity and speaking up when something is unethical. In the future, I want to express my belief in those values when someone asks me to abandon them.