Versión de HTML Básico
Surf Your Values
One clear pattern that repeats itself is this: pride often precedes
problems regarding cyber ethics. The smarter the system admin
istrator or computer guru, the more he or she will be tempted to
beat the system—often by pretending to be someone else or acting
unethically in anonymous ways. While there are many courses on
being “cyber smart,” there is no substitution for moral responsibil
ity and godly character.
How does pride enter virtual life? While most people acknowl
edge that online behaviors can become unhealthy or addictive,
many insist that the negative effects won’t happen to them. Others
have taken steps recommended by various experts to protect one ’s
family—only to be frustrated by their lack of success at overcoming
temptation. In either case, they surrender and give in to behaviors
that violate their professed values, ju s t as they m ight give in to
chocolate cake while on a diet.
In his insightful book on living virtuously in the Information
Age, Quentin J. Schultze describes how Vaclav Havel, the Czech
Republic’s incredible first president, who rose to power after years
in a Communist prison, developed a humble perspective on life,
which powerfully influenced how he governed. Havel cautioned
the world in a 1990 speech: “We still don ’t know how to put moral
ity ahead of politics, science, and economics. We are incapable of
understanding that the only genuine core of all actions—if they
are to be moral—is responsibility.”36
Havel recognized his personal weaknesses and stated that every
thing worthwhile that he had accomplished was done to conceal
guilt. “The real reason I am always creating something, organizing
something, it would seem, is to defend my permanently question
able right to exist. . . . The lower I am, the more proper my place
seems; and the higher I am, the stronger my suspicion that there
has been some mistake.”37
Schultze elaborates on how Havel’s words can help our current
perspectives on technology and cyberspace. Too often, we buy into
the lie that science and technology will eventually solve all our
moral problems, so we continue to engage in immoral activities
while waiting for the next round of innovation to somehow help—
or even to bring salvation.
■►157