Marysville resident argues ethics should lead

Ron Friesen, a Marysville resident, argues that ethical principles should take precedence over statistical measures in public life.

Friesen, a retired music teacher and community musician, published a commentary on October 31 addressing the role of metrics in society.

He stated that major societal problems require more ethics rather than additional data points.

The columnist described the current environment as one where financial gain and performance indicators determine human value.

Friesen noted that money serves a purpose only when it meets needs and helps people thrive.

He identified religion, capitalism, and current democratic structures as systems that have failed to achieve these ethical outcomes.

The author argued that the three major Abrahamic religions, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, are rooted in the belief of total depravity rather than infinite human value.

He suggested that a new spiritual awakening must begin by recognizing the inherent worth of every individual.

Friesen described capitalism as theoretically amoral but currently immoral in its application.

He observed that the system treats making money as good and losing money as bad, while allowing legal mechanisms for wealth extraction.

The columnist pointed to the healthcare system as an example where metrics and money drive decisions rather than patient needs.

He claimed that corporations receive substantial tax breaks while public schools lack sufficient funding, indicating that government serves corporate interests first and citizens secondly, he said, this structure resembles the age of monarchs and nobility, a state achieved in less than 100 years through public cooperation, he said, the new robber barons are in charge, and society has failed its historical lessons, he said, a form of Moral-Capitalism based on human value rather than personal gain would correct these issues, he said, government exists to serve citizens and protect them from corporate greed driven by metrics, he said, the founding fathers hoped the government would listen to the people before suffering ruination, he said, the Civil War, two world wars, and the Great Depression tested national foundations, but the country survived and improved, he said, today those foundations are being tested again, he said, representative government must recognize people first and corporations second to solve current problems, he said, metrics can be useful when used to determine if outcomes are ethical, but they are often tied to efficiency, he said, efficiency drives corporate thinking toward doing the least to get the most, he said, this approach drives organizations into ethical difficulties, he said, Boeing’s experience with MAX airplanes demonstrated that efficiency is not ethical when safety is compromised, he said, healthcare systems based on efficiency create unethical treatment for patients in need, he said, school systems focused on reading and math metrics do not promote critical social and life skills, he said, math and reading scores indicate only a small part of larger educational goals, he said, failure to recognize these goals unethically deprives students of a full education, he said, putting ethics first prioritizes human value, he said, this approach is rarely the most efficient but is the right way to act if people are valued more than metrics, he said, metrics currently place people in their designated roles, but society needs to place metrics in theirs, he said