115 - Sins of Omission: A Primer on Moral Indifference

Sins of Omission: A Primer on Moral Indifference

By S. Dennis Ford

Minneapolis, Fortress Press, 1990. 128 Pp. $7.95.

This book serves as a healthy nudge for all who would be ethical in the marketplace and yet fail to do so when tested. The focus of the book is on moral indifference-the sins of omission. The author seeks to persuade us that we have legitimized our indifference through cultural myths expressed in our rhetoric. The key question of this modest volume is not Why do people act immorally?, but rather Why do people fail to act morally?

The study is especially directed to the middle class, as well as to ethicists who apparently are not involved beyond rhetoric. In other words, asks Ford, "Who, in these times, will inconvenience themselves significantly in order to help others"? Indifference takes place where we fail to see and act on moral imperatives. The author views ethics as reflection on our inaction, an examination of the absences in our behavior. The book underlines the strong tendency toward sloth in our society. Ford makes the claim that "myths of indifference" (e.g. poor people are lazy; people get what they deserve; etc.) are acquired and learned in our society, contributing to the moral malaise in our midst. There is no doubt that the author presents us

116 - Sins of Omission: A Primer on Moral Indifference

with a stimulating topic worthy of further study, discussion and actions.

Carnegie Samuel Calian, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, Pittsburgh, Pa.