Snitches Get Stitches

If there is anything that can be considered guaranteed in life, being faced with decisions of whether to speak up when you feel something could be damaging to someone or just keep your mouth closed is about as guaranteed as it gets.  The answer we all are searching for when faced with this situation is not as obvious and clear as it may seem to be or lets face it the world would be perfect wouldn’t it? Or would it? 

Every situation has a right and wrong way to handle it.  From personal experience I can say that being a two-year captain of the Sacred Heart Men’s Lacrosse team has caused many agonizing decisions that had to be made for the betterment of the team.  On almost a weekly basis I sit down with my coach and we talk about the team, which ultimately always turns into conversations about individuals on the team.  In on instance I was faced with the decision to either tell coach about underclassman getting written up in the dorms, which would likely cause suspension and/or other punishment.  But this was mid season and our conference schedule is about to start, so I decide to keep my mouth closed have the back of my teammates so no one would get in trouble.  That sounds ok right?  Even though I would probably do the same thing today, I know that every time I go down that road instead of telling the truth, the team loses a little bit of discipline and that ultimately falls on the captain.

The need for something to be kept secret falls on the amount of people it will affect and/or how it will negatively and/or positively affect that individual or group of individuals.  I feel if it comes down to a few people being overly selfish and the secret is being kept not only so others cant join in but to hide what they are actually doing, than that is where the line is.

The fallout of using the media or such social networks as Twitter and Facebook can be devastating to both the whistleblower and whomever he/she is bringing to light.  In today’s society once the media gets a hold of something (that includes Twitter, Facebook, etc…) it is there forever, true or not true it will always be available for speculation.  Personally, now that I am getting older I am a lot more cautious of what I put on the Internet and what I make available to the public.   Quick example, I recently changed my blog name to just Billy to try and prevent it from coming up when googling my name, because you never know who is looking or what they will think of you.

Upon completion of this class, I will be moving into the professional world and I know for a fact I will be faced with ethical decisions on whether or not to keep things secret.  I think it is inevitable and ultimately needed in society.  If everyone knew everything there was to know, where would that put us? What excitement would we looking for or questions in need of answers?  And think of the chaos it would cause if 7 billion people all had an opinion on something they had nothing to do with and no way of answering constructively.