Recently in Personal Ethics Category

When is it time to cut the parental purse-strings? It seems these days that's happening later and later - or never, at least among some of the people I know. Maybe it's because our parents' generation earned more or saved more wisely than my own, but I seem to be part of a subset that's (at least partially) subsidized by loving, doting parents.

One friend I know uses her mother as her mortgage holder. Others accept help putting their kids through private school. I myself have been the recipient of my family's largess too often to enumerate. It's been an enormous help.

But is it wrong?

We all know what's just around the bend: Black Friday! Even as I write out my shopping list of Thanksgiving cooking ingredients, I know that the day after, stuffed with turkey, I'll be eyeballing the 2009 Black Friday sales. And this year, with the recession hitting so hard, there are sure to be incredible deals for those who can lift their somnolent selves off the couch (even to get to the computer and shop online) and engage in some hardcore retail therapy.

Have any horror stories or funny tales of Black Friday sales past? Tell us in the comments field below. 

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Yesterday I completed my move from New York City (a move that began 3 weeks ago and paused for a moment in the Midwest) into San Francisco. I was feeling pretty great when I landed; friendly, accommodating people, easy trip, and hey, exciting new beginnings! 

My Friday failure...well, this is an easy one. When it comes to ethical living, I am a ridiculous, in-your-face, know-it-all -- to my family.

I sadly saw the light mid-lecture after my mom made an innocent comment about the lottery and how she would help spread the wealth around if she was so lucky to win. I immediately launched into my spiel, "You're never going to win the lottery, Mom, so that's easy for you to say! Instead of dreaming you should DO something! SAVE THE WORLD! IT IS EVERYONE'S RESPONSIBILITY!"

My apologies for the capital letters and overuse of exclamation points, but I'm ashamed to admit that is the best way to re-create the 'crazy' (though, I didn't really use the words "save the world"). Midway through my rant, I realized my mom's eyes had glazed over and she had the look of someone resigned and familiar to torture. So, it's possible I do this often...

Ah, folks. In a world full of Louisiana officials who won't marry interracial couples, celebrity chefs battling it out with their fiancees, boys failing to fly off in balloons, and politicians winning premature prizes, why is it I care so much more about my own little quibbles?

I went to college in Columbia, Missouri, and though it's been years since I lived here, my mom has since moved to town, and I still consider it home. Columbia is approximately half way between St. Louis and Kansas...

That's one of my favorite sayings. Now, I'm not a slogan sort of a gal. I hate aphorisms as much as I love alliteration. But I really think it's great advice in so many situations. Like: just because you can...

I just have to give a shout out to a woman named LuJean. I don't know her last name, but I do know she's the single nicest, most helpful sales lady I've ever run across at Macy's. We all know how...

A few weeks ago, Hillary wrote about the website, peopleofwalmart. At the time I refrained from commenting because, well, I felt bad. I grew up in small towns around Missouri where Wal-Mart was the primary source of...everything. And while the...

I wish. So, I've been hounding my friends like crazy lately. Why? Well, lately I've felt fresh out of ethical dilemmas. My solution was to post a status message on Facebook and instant messenger, begging people to send any ethical...

Fascinating news! I just read that PBS will air a series based on an edited version of a wildly popular Harvard philosophy class on ethics and morality. The class, called "Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do?" is the brainchild...

Ethics:1.    (philosophy) The study of principles relating to right and wrong conduct.2.    Morality.3.    The standards that govern the conduct of a person, especially a member of a profession.Hillary and I were chatting today about ethics. "So what else is new?"...

When I first read the MSNBC headline, "Woman Implanted with Wrong Embryo to Give Birth", I moved straight past it, thinking it sounded a bit too much like a supermarket tabloid to interest me. I'm glad I took a...

Call it a case of white liberal guilt, but I'm uncomfy getting pedicures.I love how they look, and I'm hopeless at giving them to myself. Since I was a kid, I've tried; tongue caught fast between teeth, brow furrowed with...

I think I need to take a mental break from the race question, truly frightening schoolyard violence, health care reform, civility and the handful of other topics America is getting itself enraged over this week. So, let's play a game. ...

But it's not because I didn't like him. I actually loved the guy, as much as one can love an actor one doesn't know personally. I thought he was great, sexy, funny, a man's man and a woman's heartthrob. I...

Paddy and I thought we'd toss in our two cents on the whole civility debate. After all, we'd hardly be an "Everyday Ethics" blog if we didn't have an opinion on everyday cultural behavior trends. So here goes. Hillary:...

Well, friends, I hope you'll bear with me for some good ol' Monday angsting. As we all know, it's tempting to navel-gaze, but I think that my questions for you just manage to miss the self-indulgent mark (I hope?)...Some would say...

Last weekend I returned from a lovely, restful weekend trip to San Francisco. As I boarded the red-eye back to New York, I found myself hoping that just this once, I would have the ideal flying neighbor--the non-existent one.What I...

Is pessimism a moral issue? I am honestly not sure. I think it is a character issue, however, and for today, for me, that's close enough.Why do I want to talk about it? Because "Failure Friday" is where we discuss...

Dental plans are the worst, aren't they? Some of you may remember my worst-date story in which I also described an accident that resulted in a mouthful of broken teeth - after paying more than half those costs out-of-pocket, I...

Where does one go when they need a little Etiquette 101? Why Emily Post, of course! We're pleased to introduce Daniel Post Senning, moderator of the Emily Post Q+A blog - Etiquette Daily.com, as a new guest blogger.Our belief here...

When I ran the idea for this post by Paddy, she snorted and said, "Ha, do people really?" And I mumbled something like, "Er, I'm sure some unethical crumb bums must." (Skip work on their birthdays, that is.)Truth is, I...

At the risk of living up to our "popcorn" reputation, here's a truly trivial confession: There are days when I walk right past stuff I simply don't wish to see.Like the cat puke I don't want to clean.We've got two...

Today, Everyday Ethics had its first major plug... if you can call it that. USA TODAY gave us a mention in their Religion blog, but it wasn't exactly pretty. "This is ethics as popcorn, tasty and quickly forgotten." Or...

Normal 0 I agree wholeheartedly with Hillary's eloquent argument (see post below) that we should remember a person for who they are, not simply who we wanted them to be.I'd also like to add another point - I see...

I was reading a former coworker's excellent blog today, MyBrownBaby, and her words struck me in ways I didn't expect - emotional, practical, and yes, even ethical. The post, "My Time to Shine: What I Love Most About Me", is...

Ass. U. Me. Mostly me.This week I made a jerk of myself when, all impatient, I emailed a clothing company to which I had returned a couple pairs of jeans, wanting to know where my refund was.Now, I had every right...

An Open Letter to the Laundry Room Goniff:  WTF, lady (or gent)? Not only did you at one point apparently, inexplicably, open my dryer and let some of my socks and towels fall outside it in a heap, you then...

Doing the right thing. Speaking up. Looking out for those less able to defend themselves. These are qualities embodied by a man I grew up knowing, and, throughout high school, was proud to call my friend.  In fact, he...

So, I whine. When I was a kid, my parents even had a name for my kvetching ways: "the wip." As in, I would pooch out my lower lip as far as possible (which in my case was rather astonishingly...

They say confession is good for the soul. We're going to find out, starting today, our first Failure Friday!Last Monday, Hillary debuted our new feature, "Moral Mondays", honoring those who put their words into action and act in an outstanding...

Please don't call child services after you read this story.So, I'm great with saying thank-you -- I'm horrendous with a thank-you note. My poor mother tried her best, but sending out thank-you notes....well, it just never took.I dislike the sense...

A friend who tells you you've got spinach in your teeth is a friend for life, but then there's the stranger in line at the grocery store who reaches over and fixes your dangling bra strap (this has happened to...

One of the fundamentals of ethics is honesty, I'd say. Yet, I'm kind of a dishonest person. I consider myself to be basically morally sound, so why do I say this? Well, I tend to tell people what they want...

When Hillary wrote her post about Obama speaking out on Skip Gates' arrest, I mentally applauded her for tackling the topic- from beginning to hopeful end, the whole fiasco gives me a headache.However, many of the responses to the story...

I was just on my way out the door, rushed for time as usual, when the phone rang. Caller ID said, "000-000-0000." I had a pretty good idea who it'd be (in a general sense) but I was expecting...

Normal 0 Normal 0 One of the many things I love about my friends is their unflagging enthusiasm - since I started writing for this blog, countless dinner conversations and happy hour chatter have ended with the refrain, "Hey!...

Sorry, folks, I'm in an existential angst mood today, perhaps even an existential crisis mood. I'm feeling like a phony, if only in the sense that my day-to-day existence feels inauthentic. But by inauthentic, what do I actually mean? Well, I've...

A few years ago, my father passed away, and since then I've tended to keep my distance from the Father's Day blitz each summer - too many bittersweet, confused feelings.  Today, however, due to work, I read President Obama's...

I wish I could blog about the weather here in New York lately. I must say, I believe continuous rain for two weeks in June to be completely unethical!However, I'm distracted from the slow drip by other concerns. I'm on...

Here's my quandary.  It's been a long day.  I'm tired and grumpy.  My husband, who usually brings the mail upstairs, is home sick so I'm the one swinging by our building's mailboxes on the way back from work.  This in...

Guess what? After my post on my failure as a recycler, I actually began to do much, much better at recycling. I now manage to remember semi-regularly to bring a 'green' bag with me when I shop. And, after I...

And does the intent matter? I'm settling in to do some writing at my local coffee joint, getting all prepared to talk...you know...ethics 'n' stuff. I make sure I buy enough (a black & white cookie and a large decaf...

When I say this happened to a friend and not me, I really actually mean it. My friend had a dinner party at her summer place with some old friends--two couples, plus herself and her own boyfriend. Drinks went around...

I'm pleased to announce that Part II of our Underground Ethics "Subway Series" comes to you from our very first guest blogger: Beliefnet's own Entertainment Editor, Dena Ross. I asked Dena to write a post for us because, well, Dena has...

"Not if you're Jewish," is my mom's answer. And indeed, it's been my experience that we Jews ingest guilt with our mother's milk (not that I'd know, since my mother didn't find it 'convenient' to breast-feed me [ha, see what...

Hillary and I promise this will be the last dating post for...well, at least a little bit. I recently went through a breakup. It was tough, especially after almost a year of this person being in my life. Blogging, however,...

Welcome to Part I of our exciting new series, Underground Ethics. As the name implies, we'll be talking about things that take place far below the day-lit realm, things dark and ugly, seamy and salacious, perhaps unholy. Yes, that's...

You're on a first date, gazing into the eyes of the perfectly lovely (or handsome) person across from you, when they casually mention that they don't have plans to marry, ever. Or to marry someone white. Or perhaps Jewish. Or...

Yep, that's right, now affection is illegal. The New York Times today reported on the new fad for hugging among teens in an article entitled For Teenagers, Hello Means 'How About a Hug?'Kids these days are embracing all over the...

I recently got into a somewhat heated discussion with a close friend. It wasn't meant to be heated - I'd asked a pretty simple question, "Do you think you care more about what happens to an American vs. what happens...

Why, oh why, am I so completely and utterly incapable of remembering to bring recyclable bags with me to the grocery store? It's not like I haven't got any.... Heck, I have canvas totes from conventions past and beach vacations...

One of the reasons this blog came to be was a desire to be more authentic while searching for the answers to our ethical dilemmas. While we're far from the experts on how to be authentic, we are on a...

My brother's wedding is right around the corner, and what do you know, I'm a bridesmaid. Luckily, my fantastic sister-in-law-to-be chose a great dress for her bridesmaids (thank you!), which is very wearable and wasn't too expensive either. Just another...

Oh the shame! I was caught, my ugly side bared on Google chat, saved to the "Chats" history for me to re-live the disgrace for eternity. Today I fell victim to my catty side, as well as to Google chat. ...

Today I took the coward's way out. Two days ago, I had an appointment with an acupuncturist--someone I hadn't been to before. I'd been suffering from migraines, and was told the treatment might be a good holistic alternative to some heavy-duty...

When I first heard Wanda Sykes' jokes about Rush Limbaugh this last weekend ( "I think maybe Rush Limbaugh was the 20th hijacker. But he was just so strung out on OxyContin he missed his flight," "I hope your kidneys...

I recently fielded a call from my mother about my ring size. Though my immediate fear was that this might concern my still-unmarried status, it turns out she was more worried about my health.How does my ring size involve...

I didn't expect my first post to excite much controversy--from my friends, at least. But to my surprise, even my mother, who was in part the subject of it, had a criticism. "Nice post," she said. "But it would have...

  Every day, it seems there's another Carrie Prejean story in the news. For those who haven't been paying attention (and I kinda wish I was one of you), she's the Miss USA pageant contestant from California whose answer...

By way of introduction, I'd like to share a little about myself. (I'd promise not to do it again, but I undoubtedly will.) I was raised by a family who assumed I'd always instinctively understand the difference between right...

Standing in an especially long line at my bank yesterday, my wandering mind intersected at two points: my poor, beleaguered bank account (sob, tear) and the summer bank heist movie, Public Enemies, starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale. Where did...