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There are many times in life, especially lately, that I
sit back and wonder, more so in disgust than in admiration, about what
is going on and why things are the way they are. I know with utmost
certainty that I do not have all the answers, nor do I pretend to, and I
try not to pass judgment, though I am discovering that more and more
people are not meeting the expectations I was raised to have in terms of
the type of persons “we” are supposed to be…civilized, moral, ethical,
responsible. Though it may seem that a few of my columns lately have
sounded like I need to “rub dirt on it and play hurt,” I am pondering
out loud to you, the reader, “am I alone in these thoughts?”
Since we are in a recession, regardless if the government wants to
officially label it or not, I am typically on the lookout for additional
work because every bit of extra money is a huge help. So, I was looking
on a journalism job board the other day and found this ad (which has
been slightly modified to protect the guilty):
“I need 500 word essay describing proposed career plans. I need this
in order to get a scholarship. Email me to discuss further. Payment will
be $40 by money order only.”
Wow! I must contain my excitement. Here is the chance I have been
waiting for. I have the chance to perhaps cheat a hard-working, honest
student (who is probably more than worthy of said scholarship), out of
the ability to receive it.
I mean what could be more rewarding than to give a cheating, but
seemingly enterprising, young person the ability to outwit his or her
competition by giving him or her the upper hand by writing the essay
part for him/her? If I could only take the exit exams for him/her as
well, so I could give the advertiser the full ability to lie his/her way
into a future that he/she must obviously “DESERVE.”
Though sometimes written sarcasm is hard to catch, for those of you not
catching it, I am not possibly serious about honoring this request.
Is this what is acceptable these days?
What ever happened to ethics? What happened to morals? Are we teaching
our children that it does not matter how we win as long as we DO “win?”
Are we becoming a society of persons who are ethically and morally
bankrupt? Have we always been this way, or now with the advancement of
communication and technology, is our ability to be ethically
questionable increasing, or are we just becoming more aware of it?
I look at this advertisement and wonder - how many other students are
out there, getting scholarships, which many are scored on the essay part
and are merit based, that were composed by someone else? How many of you
are knowingly raising or assisting these students who are obviously not
working hard and earning things on their own?
How is getting a scholarship based on the equivalent to a lie,
metaphorically any different than breaking into those other competing
student’s houses and stealing money out of their wallets or their
parents wallets?
I am not judge and jury for this particular student. But what I am is a
concerned parent with a child who might be competing for a scholarship
herself one day. Is it fair for my child to compete against an
application written by adult professional journalists?
Yes, I know life is “not fair.” But do we continue to ignore people who
are cheating their way through it? Or do we stand up, take a position
and say “NO, we will NOT accept this” from our own children, or from the
generations yet to come?
Right now I have more questions than answers. But I do know that this is
not right-not one bit.
familyfavorites@gmail.com
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