Page four
-- GUILFORDIAN, September 30, 1980
Pie Eating Contest
Thanks! No one could have guessed from the appearance of such
an energetic crowd of aggressive eaters that you would eschew
your competitive impulses sufficiently to allow a leisurely old
dessert eater like me to devour two pies ahead of you. I keep trying
to tell people that it was not rigged, but unless somebody really saw
the energy that you poured into that contest I don't think they
would believe me.
I couldn't help but appreciate the fine manners and careful
eating habits that you all have developed through the cultivated
atmosphere of our dining hall.
By contrast, I seem to have slobbered all over my plate, and my
face, and the table, to say nothing of the T-shirts of the people
sitting next to me. Actually, I have wondered if my grubbing
instincts to get my nose right into the bottom of things have not
been furthered by my experience in administration. Certainly I
have to "contend with the whole pie" at once. And I need to have a
consummate appetite for things that might otherwise end up in a
mess.
To tell you the truth, my biggest learning from this contest had to
do with the psychological and moral responses to our honor code. I
honestly stuck to most of the rules and certainly kept my hands tied
behind my back the entire time.
But I did have to confess that I spilled some on the table and even
a bit on the ground, though I tried to eat most of it up. How could I
accept the prize, though, when I not only knew I had not eaten
every last apple slice but also heard people telling me that they had
seen some infraction of the honor code?
I couldn't. In spite of the judges' declaration that my plates were
the cleanest, I forfeited the prize tennis racket to Susan, a very
deserving, hard-eating person, and competitive second place
finisher.
Seriously, the experience led me to reflect on some of the
unusual qualities and dilemmas that we face with our honor code. I
think that it is both unusual and highly significant that we have a
community of people here at Guilford that is so conscious of our
ethical responsibilities to one another that we take matters of
personal and intellectual integrity to heart.
In a culture where the predominant (pseudo) ethical code seems
to be primarily: "How could I get the most for number one?", or
"What's in it for me?", or "How can I get around the system
without anybody catching me?" it is refreshing to be in a place
where people really think about issues of fairness and
responsibility to the rights of others. We know that it is sometimes,
perhaps many times, hard to live up to that concern. But I believe it
is a concern that we all share in the deeper layers of our conscience.
What really seems tough (and here I stray away even further
from the subject of pies) is the matter of acknowledging having
witnessed someone else's violation. Even if we can be critical of the
"What's in it for me?" ethic on the grounds that it's narcissistic
and selfish, it is harder to acknowledge the limitations of an ethic
which says in effect, "I should not rat on my buddy."
I think we have a fairly deeply ingrained American conviction
that we should "live and let live" or, to use the old Bibical
metaphor of doubt: "Am I my brother's keeper?" The ethical
dilemma here is one in which we want to preserve the freedom of
integrity of other people to live their life as they choose, even if that
means violating forms of social contract, while at the same time
wanting to preserve a viable society in which people have sufficient
respect for one another that they can be trusted at their word and
believed in cooperative efforts for mutual good.
The events of the twentieth century, particularly the atrocities of
the German holocaust, (to say nothing of violent and bigoted forms
of destruction of life closer to home) have taught us the serious
limitations of that "live and let live" philosophy. Carried very far,
it serves to legitimize brutal and dehumanizing forms of behavior
on the grounds that "it's none of my business."
No, in some sense I am my brother's keeper. And I am my
sister's keeper. At least I think that is true in the sense that each of
us has some responsibility for the quality of the community that we
create around us. And central to that community needs to be a form
of compassion which goes beyond a sentimental willingness to let
"everybody do their own thing," to a willingness to "speak the
truth with love" in confronting forms of injustice and personal
violation with courage and sensitivity. The truth is hard But
ultimately both love and justice depend on it.
Wow! It seems like I have come a long way from pies. I guess this
is an example of reflection on experience -- a quality I hope we all
are developing with some refinement. It's also a way of saying
thank you for challenging me last night. It's grea to have a lot of fun
and learn something at the same time.
With best wishes for a spirited community (which means both
fun-loving and moral).
William B. Rogers
President
BjEr *
Ik Sr- WHm
if
K
. H\ JC
EsHr£sf S MHBMB*WI >*- . 5
f. JH,
jlfe^M^EaE^'' I I
H|
HL Hv' HR9k
iSt - $M
sßHnilHn
|r jM|UH ** *
. iyft J$
■taMMMfl , flip O
_c
■ a.
s^.