The Toyota Apology

Toyoda's tearful apology reminds me of my nephew's bumper sticker: "It's easier to be forgiven than to get permission." Corporate ethics are making huge strides. Deny until the lies collapse around you, then cry.

I'm not being snide. Corporate philosophy not so long ago would have dictated that making a fine fluffy profit dictates breaking many eggs. And so be it. Now we have advanced this cruel outlook to the cold consideration of risk v. reward. Realizing the madness and futility of even considering perfection corporate giants must coolly regard an acceptable number of deaths to be entwined into the bottom line. Cigarette and Pharmaceutical companies print black box warnings absolving themselves from the culpability of directly dealing out death via their product. Auto manufacturers have always made unsafe choices and will only consider recall until the death toll becomes newsworthy. Tour the toxic wastelands of chemical Louisiana (just outside of New Orleans) to get an idea of how little companies and the government that is supposed to supervise them cares. Guess it's better than strapping an unwitting Chinese with dynamite and sending him deep into the mountainside to advance the tunnel, but by what degree?

Whether it is to remove the Indians or bomb the Japanese these mortal decisions somehow relate to the cruel bottom line. Upon closer consideration they are all risk v. reward determinations and related to the grand macroeconomics of America. Humanity is considered in degrees.

The logic is inescapable as fire. Earth and all its inhabitants are to be used. The thinking monkey is in charge. Philosophy then becomes important and dangerous. Remember Hitler perverted Kierkegaard, Lenin/Marx and Christianity/Jesus. The ultimate effect of compromise is that some people, not all people will die. The universal acceptance of wealth v. poverty leads us to dangerous thinking.

The infantile predilection to instant gratification guides most of our non reflective decisions and beyond. Allen Greenspan admits his lifelong belief in deregulation was simply wrong. Great minds cause big problems. Basic cultures tend toward self preservation, not without some human sacrifice. Where, you may ask, are the Aztecs and Mayans now? The way has been paved but we walk around it to better our position. The battle of good v. evil is subtle and infused with nuance. The problem is within our thinking. Like Greenspan, accept one false premise and your whole life may be corrupted. The more I study philosophy the more I appreciate common sense.

Yes, the path is narrow but easy to follow. Be polite, do unto others, teach and love the children and be kind to yourself.