Moral Quandary #1: You are sitting in a restaurant at a table for four. Halfway through your meal, a group of 4 gentlemen in wheelchairs enter the restaurant. These aren't normal wheelchairs, but rather ones with gigantic mechanisms on the back to support folks with serious needs. It is a busy night. You overhear the waitress say to the group that the only empty table that can accommodate them is reserved. If you offer your table, you will probably be reseated outside on a chilly night, or even may have to wait for reseating. What are your moral responsibilities as the diner or as the waitress?
** ACTUAL DISCLAIMER: A similar situation happened to me, except I was at a table for two that also could not accommodate the group.***
Moral Quandary #2: You are me (not rich, but not worried about where the next meal is coming from) and you are soon departing Israel for galut. Yeehaw! You have things/objects that are not worth taking home such as a down comforter, a lighter blanket, a full set of dairy dishes, bedding, pillows, etc. There are a number of things you could do with the stuff. You could:
a) donate it to a local charity;
b) give it to someone you know in Jtown, either a friend or a family that has been generous to you;
c) give it to members of your own family in Israel;
d) try to put it in circulation for someone with your fellowship next year; or
e) try to sell it.
What to do?
Moral Quandary #3: Given the previous post, I am now not responsible for finding anyone else to fill my room. My roommates, however, will still have to approve/meet any incoming person in the apartment. Should they abstain from mentioning some of the terrible difficulties they have had with the landlord in order to facilitate finding a person to fill the room, or should they fully disclose the bad relationship making it unlikely that anyone will take the room? What information do they owe a potential roommate and what confidence should they provide their landlord?
Monday, May 21, 2007
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
About things: Things carry the sentiment of the giver...and so, there are things that I have been given that constantly remind me of the person who bestowed the gift. I would vote for you to give your stuff to family and friends. Your Beit Shemesh family has a whole lot less than many other family members...and your friends who you will leave behind would very much appreciate your gifts.
Love,Mom
As to the first two issues: there is a difference between a moral obligation and a behavior that is morally laudable. For example, no one is morally obligated to run into a burning building to save a trapped dog, but certainly such heroism would be morally laudable.
As to the third issue: there is a difference between sabotage and disclosure. Disclosing facts about an apartment to a prospective renter is fair game. But intentionally trying to sabotage the landlord's efforts to find a renter -- just for revenge -- is probably not.
-- M.A.D. Isaak
Post a Comment