Motorcycle Ethics in the Light of Nordic Country

You wrote:

There's a pretty common thread in ethics training that goes something like this: your character is determined by what you do when no one is watching.

I'd believe that. I've heard that used as a litmus test for one's Christian character -- in other words, do you abide by the teachings of Christ when nobody is looking? I would like to think I do ... but I don't all the time. But I want to. That's a start.

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Last week, when I was in Chicago, I was talking with my two co-workers in the workshop. One had taken a church mission trip to Jamaica to build houses, the other frequently refers to himself as "Christian." Yet both rather casually used the Lord's name in vain, and spoke rather freely about visiting erotic bars. I like both of them -- by human standards they're both decent people. My point in bringing this up is not to judge, but to raise this question:

Is it possible that some people use the term "Christian" as a cultural indicator rather than a statement about faith?

I suspect the answer is "yes," in much the same way that some non-observant Jews still call themselve "Jewish."

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Speaking of ethics -- we have quite a row brewing in the U.S. right now. In the war on terror, the U.S. government is engaged in many different programs of surveillance. Most are classified. Yet career bureaucrats opposed to the current administration are leaking information about the programs to the New York Times, who is also opposed to the current administration. So they publish details about these programs, which of course alerts the terrorists to modify their ways.

There's much talk over here about this. The U.S. Constitution provides for a "free press," but does that mean the freedom to disclose classified information? Some would argue "Yes," they do have the freedom to disclose it. I would then ask, "Without consequence?" In other words, you're free to disclose it, but then the government is free to pursue an indictment on charges of treason.

When news of the latest disclosure broke -- the U.S. Treasury department is monitoring cash transactions that take place in the international exchange market -- some left-wingers here reacted without thinking: "It's outrageous that the government should be aware of our financial records!" What? Every April 15th I file a very detailed report on just that. The government has more information on my financial state than I do.

(By the way, the currency exchange monitoring program was secret, but not illegal ... not even borderline. Nobody is suggesting it is illegal. Congress was briefed and expressed no concern about it. But it was secret. But no longer.)

I do not like what the NY Times is doing. They seem to think that it'll forever be 1973 and everything is "Watergate." They are blinded by their hatred of the current president, and are willing to sacrifice the lives of others to do damage to him.