Ethical Gray Area

The movie “Thank You for Smoking” is an exciting piece of film that explores different avenues of ethical dilemmas within the film. Nick Naylor, a lobbyist for big tobacco, wrestles with his moral compass to justify the implications of his work as a lobbyist and his advocacy for the use of cigarettes through persuasion and manipulation. Naylor finds himself navigating the tension of personal freedoms and public health issues revolving around tobacco products.

Furthermore, a point was raised in class about whether it would be ethically okay to do something that is not illegal, in this case, being a lobbyist for big tobacco. Still, it leads to moral ambiguity. The work that Naylor is doing raises numerous ethical issues. However, in the movie, Naylor mentions to his son that he has “flexible morals,” which is Naylor’s way of implying that his own personal values and principles are fluid, which allows him to be okay with the work that he is doing. Naylor claims that he is just doing it for the mortgage. While this seems light-hearted and, in some instances, can be true of many people doing many different jobs, this can slowly creep in to resembling the notion of “I was just following orders.”

While this idea may seem far-fetched, we can see that in both cases, an individual carries out actions that have harmful or unethical consequences. These actions are easily justified by appealing to external factors such as a financial need or an organizational hierarchy. These events are different, with many other extenuating circumstances and differences. But with that being said, they both toe the line or moral ambiguity leading to questionably ethical decisions.

These ethical dilemmas within this movie raise questions regarding personal responsibility and the importance of individual choice in determining what is ethically correct versus technically legal.