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Contemporary Ethics
Stamberg Series Examines Right and Wrong in the 21st Century
 Hear Susan Stamberg's report on FBI whistleblower Coleen Rowley.
 Listen to other stories in this series.
NPR's Susan Stamberg
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August 2003 -- In a four-part series for Morning Edition, NPR's Susan Stamberg focuses on contemporary ethical questions. In this essay for npr.org, she offers a bit of background on the collection:
Scandals involving Enron, WorldCom, the Catholic Church, Martha Stewart and The New York Times are the fuel behind my Tuesday Morning Edition series on ethics.
The idea was to sample what it means to be ethical in the 21st century, and to find out whether the old-fashioned notions of "right" and "wrong" have any currency. We settled on four interviewees.
The first, Tom Morris, calls himself a "public philosopher" and lectures on ethics to major corporations. To introduce our conversation on the air, we went to a local Washington, D.C., Safeway to record some aisle-side "vox pop" -- "If you take a grape without paying for it, is that wrong? What about a peach? A chicken?"
We were amazed to hear the sliding and slippery slope people tread in such situations. A grape, some said, was fine -- the stores expect you to take them before you decide whether to buy the bunch. But our philosopher Tom Morris said theft is theft is theft, and the inherent value or size of what you take doesn't matter.
Then listeners weighed in with e-mails, most writing that the question itself was foolish -- everyone takes grapes. (Oh really? I won't, again, without thinking twice -- and maybe paying a penny if I take one and don't buy the bunch.)
The series also includes a convicted felon -- a young, successful MCI guy who stole $6 million in a cover-up book-cooking scheme. We talk about why he did it, how often he thought, "this is wrong," and why he kept on doing it.
Another guest in the series is longtime FBI special agent Coleen Rowley, who sent a private letter (which got leaked to CNN) to the head of the FBI, full of criticism of the agency for not following tips from her Minneapolis office, which lobbied for an investigation of Zacarias Moussaoui long before the 9-11 attacks. What ethical questions did she ask herself, before blowing the whistle on the FBI? Having done it, does she have to hold herself to a higher standard these days?
For me, the best experience was a 20-minute drive over to Fairfax Station, Va., and the home of Janice and Jim Narel. Sixteen children have lived under their roof in the 30-plus years of their marriage. Some are their biological children, others are adopted, still others came for foster care, before being adopted by different families.
This is a remarkable couple, who exude love, conviction and integrity and have devoted their lives to instilling ethical values in a rainbow of races and cultures (their children are black, white, African, Asian). We spent a few hours with them, watching the steady mix of affection and authority that permeates their cheerful house. And came away feeling light and light-hearted, for having met them.
Aug. 5
Supermarket Ethics
Would you sample a grape in the produce aisle without paying for it? Would you notify the cashier if she undercharged you? We pose these questions to shoppers at a supermarket. And we talk to Tom Morris, a self-described "public philosopher" -- and former philosophy professor at Notre Dame -- about supermarket ethics, and ethics in the wider world.
Aug. 12
Business Ethics
An interview with Walter Pavlo, an ex-employee of MCI who concealed company losses and stole over $6 million from the company. He was convicted of obstruction of justice, money laundering and mail fraud, served three years in prison, and was released earlier this year. He speaks about his personal experiences with the "slippery slope" of ethics.
Aug. 19
Mom and Pop Ethics
A visit with the Narel family of Fairfax Station, Va. You could almost describe Jim and Janice Narel as "professional parents": They have 11 children (3 biological, 7 adopted, one foster child) and have briefly fostered several other children over the years. They talk about the challenges -- and gratification -- of teaching values to kids.
Aug. 26
The Whistleblower
Coleen Rowley was named a Time person-of-the-year in 2002, for risking her career in order to blow the whistle against her own agency. As chief counsel in the Minneapolis office of the FBI, she alerted Congress -- and the American public -- to investigational lapses that may have prevented the capture of al Qaeda suspect Zacarias Moussaoui. She now talks to student and business groups about ethics, and believes she has to set an example for pristine moral conduct.
In Depth
Explore more conversations on ethics from "The Ethicist" series on All Things Considered.
May 21, 2003: Listen to a Talk of the Nation discussion on the ethics of shirking work.
May 13, 2003: Tavis Smiley discusses ethics in journalism with Keith Woods, a member of the ethics faculty at the Poynter Institute.
June 3, 2002: NPR's Bob Edwards and Cokie Roberts discuss the possible repercussions of Coleen Rowley's whistle-blowing.
May 27, 2002: NPR's Liane Hansen profiles Rowley.
Search for more stories by Susan Stamberg.
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