Trump´s “100% loyality” is a dilemma

Snitching wrongdoing friends and peers stands for morality and leadership

 

 

 

 

Loyality is a high moral standard – privately and in the working place. It is switching, though, into the immoral if friends or acquaintances, peers and superiors are doing wrong and you don´t do anything. On the contrary: Snitching wrongdoing friends and peers stands for morality and leadership.

There is only one exception to the rule: when the snitcher does not like the person meant, and when he/she has a special self-interest in the snitching. These are the conclusions of a brand new, concise US-study that was being published recently. The researchers point out that particularly whistle blowers must decide for themselves from time to time if they want to be known as good friends or as moral leaders. This given Donald Trump´s call for 100% loyality among the potential members of his government creates a dilemma and shows into a grim future.

Berry/Silver/Shaw, “Moral Paragons, but Crummy Friends: The Case of Snitching”, in: Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 30(3), 442–464.

 

From the practice:

I am fully with the conclusions of this study: it is also in my opinion a sort of loyality or solidarity completely misunderstood if someone is covering for a close relationship where the proponent is keeping behaving wrong. Whitewashing the situation or not drawing any consequences does not make the case better. I do believe that this is even more crucial where credibility is concerned, where taxpayer´s money is at risk, where someone´s health could be severely damaged and where it might get prosecutable.

Loyality and/or solidarity serves always to the greater good: the state, the electorate, the organisation, customers and clients, members etc.

BUT: with friends, acquaintances, peers or superiors in our first step we should always motivate them to set proactively a sign of personal responsibility – reparation or resignation – before we snitch. This is the advantage they get due to the close relationship with us. Nothing more but nothing less.