BROAD BRUSHES
There can be little doubt but that what we sometimes call
“common business practices” have been violated by some
business firms in recent years.
Such opinions may vary, of course, and it would seem wise
that we do not try to use the same broad brush to mark them all in
one thoughtless condemnation.
Some critics will leap to condemn The Media which has
happen far too often in recent times, saying they exaggerate such
issues and do an instant overkill when covering them as news.
Certainly the Media - all arms, wings, tangents and levels of it -
have a journalistic duty to compelling them to observe and report
not only what is actually happening , but also the underlying
current which seems to be taking place, as well. Care must be
taken to isolate those element of business which are in poor
condition from those which are hearty and striving. They ,too,
cannot apply to same size brushes to all. The path of wrongdoing is
usually narrow and it is duty of the Media to protect those firms
who abide by the generally accepted rules even while they are
exposing the actions of those few who do not. There is real danger
lurking in any methods which allow innocent firms to become
“suspect” - so often of imaginary transgressions - in the minds of
readers and hearers.
We must refrain from pre-judging all firms because of the
wayward actions of a few,
Just because one company’s officers chose to guide their
company into the wrong road does not mean other are doing the
same thing. Before we even consider throwing the entire barrel of
good apples away, we go through the contents carefully and
patiently to remove the obviously bad ones. Then, we keep a
closer eye on what is left for a time to make sure we got all the
bad ‘uns.
I think it can be said that it is doubly important at this time in
our national history, when we are a nation at war against a
somewhat “unseen” power called “Terrorism”. This is a time which
calls for complete honesty in what we are doing and thinking. If
there are elements of the business community who are proved to
be not keeping faith with the public and their peer groups, we
must root them out carefully and individually not with one, swirling
harvest of any segments of our economy.
Let’s not be too quick to condemn the wrong folks,
especially with vague, unsustainable insinuations. A.L.M.
JULY 8, 2002 [c430wds]
