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An Example of a Moral Dilemma
Recent news articles have described the scandal over college admissions cheating by wealthy parents. One guilty parent, an actress who paid to have her daughter's SAT scores doctored by a corrupted proctor, was the first to be sentenced (to 14 days in a Federal prison). She has described feeling extremely remorseful for what she did. Her rationale: her learning-disabled daughter wanted to become an actress and the parent felt that her daughter's problems with math would prevent her from being admitted to schools where she could audition. The parent felt that it wasn't fair for her daughter to be prevented from achieving her chance to get an education in acting due to poor math grades. At one point she even felt that she would be a bad mother if she didn't cheat. Yet she felt very ambivalent about going forward with it.
When her daughter learned what her mother had done she was very upset that her mother didn't have faith in her to accomplish this on her own. And she said, "I don't know who you are anymore, Mom." While prison time, however short, and the designation of felon are significant punishments, the greater pain is the loss of employment (even though she doesn't need the money, she has lost the opportunity to work at what she loves and does well). But the greatest pain of all is her daughters' disillusionment and anger at her.
The Ambivalence is Tormenting
This actress was torn between a mental pathway that wanted to help her daughter and another pathway that knew that cheating was wrong. She agonized for weeks over the decision. Have you ever found yourself torn between two choices, both of which seemed to have negative results?
The Tool Can Help
If you should ever find yourself with a moral dilemma in which each choice seems negative, you may well struggle about your decision. And while in the midst of such a situation it can be difficult to maintain one's perspective. But should such a situation occur, you can turn to complimentary Tool can for help. In Step 3, instead of wishing to feel peaceful and calm, wish for a new mental pathway that will help you make the right choice.
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