The concept of Moral Myopia asks the question of do you always act in a way that is in accordance with your morals? That is morally right? Not many of us can say that we always do act in accordance with our morals no matter the situation despite our intentions.
To get a better idea, Moral Myopia is described as “A distortion of moral vision, ranging from shortsightedness to near blindness, which affects an individual’s perception of an ethical dilemma. Moral myopia hinders moral issues from coming clearly into focus, particularly those that are not proximate, and it can be so severe that it may render a person effectively morally blind. If moral issues are not seen at all or are somehow distorted, it is highly unlikely that sound ethical decision making will occur.”
This can occur at the level of individual, organization or society. Ask yourself, if everyone is doing something, will you deem that action as acceptable for yourself? Or question whether there is a diversity issue, for example, on your campus at a societal level.
At the organization level, a PR practitioner may say that they will never advertise a certain product, but when the opportunity comes up you might take an account for that product despite your moral contradiction to it. This is a prime example of moral myopia in action in the workplace.
Moral Myopia is very important when it comes to the professional capacity of making decisions as we pledge to an ethical code in the workplace. There are personal ethical decisions, relationships with clients and other practitioners, loyalty issues, choice of clients or organization and secrecy among many ethical dilemmas we may face as industry professionals. The issue is whether we are blinded from ethical dilemma’s we face or not.
The book Ethics in Public Relations: A guide to best practices touches on this concept specifically in the world of public relations. Patricia J. Parsons says:
“While ethical practice in any profession is guided by timeless philosophical perspectives, ongoing developments in technology, social media, and social contexts offer new challenges, especially in the field of public relations (PR). Ethical questions and dilemmas are inherent to public relations, and it is essential that practitioners act ethically.”
With societal issues, we must be more alert than ever as PR practitioners. Society has made it easy to stray away from our morals with many challenges. There will always be ethical issues we have to face in a professional or personal capacity. Its how we act in relation to our morals that matters.
