At the beginning of every year (perhaps to remind myself)
I habitually write a piece pointing out the reasoning that
underlies what I write and why I write.
For those of you who have difficulty buying into
Situational Ethics, to understand it as I see it, I suggest
the Wikipedia page on that subject.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Situational_ethics
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
{From CommPRO.Biz 2013.01.02}
“Who cares what you think?”
The ‘How’ and ‘Why’ to Craft a Meaningful Opinion Piece
– Understanding Both Sides
By: W.T. “Bill” McKibben, Senior Counsel, The Great
Lakes Group
We like to kick off the New Year responding to the remark
we have heard so often over the decades that we have been
writing opinion pieces: “Who cares what you think?” Good
question. Our response is always the same: “Hopefully, no
one.” However, we keep writing. The goal–to craft a
meaningful opinion piece. Here’s some background to
help you get a sense of my ‘how-to’ steps for expressing
my passion.
A friend owned the only newspaper and radio station in a
small town. He ran editorials in the paper, and personally
voiced them on his station. His newspaper would take one
side of an issue and he would dispense the opposite on the
radio; he wrote both. He believed a good opinion writer
should be able to see both sides of an issue, or they
shouldn’t be writing the opinion.
While we make every effort to look at both sides, we are
not sure we can follow that ideal in every issue we address.
We do not write to convince anyone to take up our
position. We do the research; often we will have as many
as fifty pages of research for a five-hundred-word op-ed.
Ethics rarely has two acceptable sides. On the other hand,
it isn’t always a simple matter of right and wrong either.
Like it or not, Situational Ethics are called for at times; the
situation can change the ethical call. There are times when
one has to think about the impact of hard-line adherence
to what seems the right thing at the moment. Or as our
friend Saul Alinsky once defined truth, “You don’t have to
cross the street to tell someone how ugly they are.”
So if we don’t write to change your mind, or help you
make up your mind, and if we don’t expect people to care
what we think, why do we write? We write because the
ethical issues we raise seem important to us and we hope
you will think about them. We want you to sort through
the facts. We want you to search the internet, to read and
find a position. If you toss a brick at your computer every
time one of our op-eds turns up, that’s OK. At least you
are thinking about the issues.
Beware those who disperse opinion for other reasons.
Beware the manipulators.
Happy New Year!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
See you next week.
Be well.
Bill~
W.T. "Bill" McKibben
The Great Lakes Group
3455 Warner Dr ~ Buffalo NY 14072-1043
LL 
716.883.4695 ~ Toll Free 877.619.2793
716.883.4695 ~ Toll Free 877.619.2793
Mobile 716.998.9848 ~ WT@McKibben.com
716.998.9848 ~ WT@McKibben.com
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