Grappling with the Gray
Are you ethical? Join Rabbi Yonason Goldson and his panel of thinkers as they grapple with a new ethical challenge each week. Only by contemplating all sides and every angle can we improve ethical decision-making, build more trusting relationships, and help create a more ethical world.
Grappling with the Gray
Grappling with the Gray #135: Waging lawfare to defend warfare?
Is exaggeration just another synonym for lying?
That the question that drives the conversation when Jennifer H. Elder, CSP, CPA, JC Glick, and ☘️Mark O'Brien join the ethics panel to Grapple with the Gray.
Here is our topic:
Speaking truth to power is one of the foundational principles of any society built on ethics and the rule of law.
Senator Mark Kelly claims that’s what he was doing when he joined five other lawmakers urging service members to refuse illegal orders from their superiors, alluding to military strikes against cartel drug runners. Writing for National Review, Andrew McCarthy argues convincingly that, while Senator Kelly is not guilty of sedition (of which he has been accused), his message was ill-advised and wrongheaded.
Without getting into the weeds of legal definitions, we might frame the issue as politicizing the military vs. weaponizing the justice system. Senator Kelly’s message threatens to disrupt military efficiency by undermining the chain of command, while charges of criminality seemingly overstate objections to the propriety of the message.
If we insist on exaggerating or otherwise misrepresenting both justification for our positions and claims against our ideological opponents, do we not make it impossible to honestly debate the issues and work toward reasoned resolutions? How have we ended up in a place where rhetoric is more valued than substance? And what can we do about it?
Meet the panel:
Jennifer Elder is a CPA and Certified Speaking Professional who helps leaders future-proof their businesses by making smart decisions and staying ethical.
JC Glick is a retired Army Ranger Lieutenant Colonel. He is a leadership, strategy, and culture advisor, as well as CEO of the Commit Foundation, an organization that helps high-performance veterans find their next adventure.
Mark O’Brien is founder and principal of O’Brien Communications Group, a B2B brand-management and marketing-communications firm — and host of The Anxious Voyage, a syndicated radio show about life’s trials and triumphs.