Ethics Laws and Difficult Family Predicaments
Sometimes it's very difficult for a government official to deal with a
conflict of interest involving a member of his or her immediate family.
The common approach to ethics is to assume that an official will favor
a family member, but sometimes an ethics law can take an official out
of the uncomfortable position of having to reject a family member. And
sometimes the situation with a family member can have elements of both.<br>
<br>
In <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/28/opinion/28eisenhower.html" target="”_blank”">an op-ed piece</a> in today's New York Times, John S. D. Eisenhower, son
of the president, came out strongly against allowing any president's or
vice-president's child to be assigned to duty in a combat zone.<br>
<br>
As it
happens, he is the only living example of this, but sons of both
vice-presidential candidates are due to be sent to Iraq, and he feels
that this decision should be taken out of the hands of both sons and
parents, and be decided by the Secretary of Defense or someone neutral
and of equivalent stature.<br>
<br>
Unfortunately, it is a feather in a candidate's cap to be able to say
that his or her child will be serving in Iraq. What could be more
patriotic? What could better show one's willingness to sacrifice for
the sake of our nation's security?<br>
<br>
One thing would be to consider the consequences of this personal
sacrifice on others, including oneself. Would it make it more likely
that a unit would be attacked, so that the vice-presidential child
could be held for ransom and bring great publicity to a terrorist
cause? Eisenhower thinks so. And then what? President Eisenhower made
his son promise to kill himself rather than let himself be captured, saying
that if the North Koreans or Chinese were to use his son for blackmail
purposes, President Eisenhower would be forced to resign.<br>
<br>
It is hard for a vice-president, recognizing the consequences, to ask
his or her child to refuse service in Iraq, when this would bring the
child great disrespect and would make the vice-president seem to be
favoring his or her child. The vice-president should not be placed in
this position.<br>
<br>
Nor should a mayor be placed in the position of telling his daughter
not to invest in a development project or rejecting the project due to
its consequences, which he feels are harmful. Ethics laws do not only
prevent unethical conduct; they also help officials to get out of
making decisions where the public interest conflicts with the interest
of family, friends, and business associates, and where they lean toward the
public interest. Ethics laws are there to project all sorts of public officials.<br>
<br>
Robert Wechsler<br>
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics<br>
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