Sometimes it seems as though our society is in a constant state of scandal. Whether it's corruption in politics, cheating in sports, or the illicit activities of the rich and famous, there seems to be a never-ending stream of indiscretions that come to light. These scandals are often shocking and represent and unbelievable idiocy or hubris or disregard for others. Furthermore, attempts to cover things up often lead to a web of lies that generate even further outrage.
As a result of this pervasiveness of scandal, I found this longread to be immensely refreshing to read. It tells the story of a famous engineer who blew the whistle on himself and took responsibility to fix a problem rather than try to cover it up. This story is a recognition that when finger-pointing, buck-passing, and covering-up are set aside, even difficult situations can be resolved quickly, amicably, and in a way that benefits the best interest of all parties involved.
"The Fifty-Nine Story Crisis" by Joe Morgenstern
Published in the New Yorker, May 29, 1995
http://people.duke.edu/~hpgavin/ce131/citicorp1.htm
Eric
Positive communication and self accountability. Novel concepts.
ReplyDeleteI guess it is a pretty sad comment on our current state of affairs that these "novel concepts" seem so remarkable.
ReplyDeleteOne interesting question is how things might have unfolded differently if the newspaper writers had not been on strike. Would the engineer have said something that could/would have been taken out of context? Might that have unraveled the teamwork he had going with everyone else involved? It makes you wonder to what extent the modern media has influenced the individual sense of accountability in our society (note: I'm not trying to blame the media, just bringing this up as an interesting issue).
ReplyDeleteEric
I think that's why the article was written like it was, to make clear the media would have turned it into a firestorm. And that was 40 years ago well before fox was fair and balanced. It is completely reasonable to assume that had the media been around the situation would have unfolded differently with posturing and loud proclamations for all.
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