We did not have to get very far into 2008 for an out of the park ethics story. And this one happened right in Garland, TX. (That is NE DFW). The Mother of a six year old ‘helped’ the girl craft a story claiming that her Dad had been killed in Iraq. This was her ‘essay’ submitted in a contest to win both tickets to see Hannah Montana, the latest iteration of Mouseketeers, Spice Girls, et al, and a ‘makeover’. The girl in question is six years old. A Makeover, a six year old is so awry she need a makeover?
Turns out the soldier in the essay does not exist, amid all the reports there is no report about where the biological Dad actually resides (this seems to be a common thread in such stories), and so the tickets were given to someone else. In a moment of attrition or some sort of bizarre publicity grab, the Mom appears on the Today show with her lawyer and psychologist to say she had made a mistake. Worse Mom’s sister declared that the youngster did not know the essay had to be factual, so it’s OK, right?
Gee where do we start here?
What do you suppose Mom told the youngster about why the tickets were going to someone else?
Imagine Mom actually helping the daughter ‘write’ the essay…….
Is there any line in the sand such a person would not cross for personal gain? Placing such emphasis on concert tickets is no way to meld a life vision for a child. Do you suppose Mom ever discussed seeing the Grand Canyon at dawn or Yosemite Falls at sunset, now there are two nature concerts worth attending.
Hannah Montanna tickets, a makeover at six years old, please if we are going to ban trans fats, let’s ban sub majority age beauty contests, remember the teen Miss South Carolina discussing geography? by the way, Brittany Spears amid a bevy of ambulances to her home, lost custody of her kids this weekend, her sixteen year old sister with a tv show is pregnant, their Mother has delayed publishing a book on how to raise show business kids, the coverage of these events parallels the Presidential Primary coverage, do we have a role model problem here?
A lie is a lie, say it ain'[t so Joe was the plaintive cry of a small child wanting to know if in fact the 1919 World Series was fixed. Now 90 years later we have stunts like this, Mike Vick, and steroids in pro sports.
The three legs of fraud are opportunity, rationalization, and pressure to win at any cost, this one seems to fit the bill. Your Thoughts?
Professor Elam 
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