When Values Collide

Perhaps the best thing about having and trying to live up to particular values is that it gives you a precise path to travel in life. For instance, if one's value is not to steal, then each day you know that is something you will not be doing. Or if another value is to extend kindnesses toward others, then that becomes something that you will try to make part of each of your days. It is pretty simple when you think about it. But what happens when values one has end up butting heads? What happens when circumstance put them in direct conflict with each other? It is times like that when life takes on greater complexity.

I am a member of the public relations team at a university. Recently, a pro-life organization had an event on campus that included very graphic displays of aborted fetuses. The photos, as one might guess, were unsettling and, to many, quite upsetting. Our office received numerous complaints about the displays and the enthusiasm of their supporters who were not shy about approaching students in giving out literature to further their cause. One interesting point that emerged from the many students with whom I talked about this is that while they recognized the organization's right to be heard, they still objected to the university's decision to allow them to do so.

Not surprisingly, the media began calling to do stories on the controversy the displays and the group triggered. My job was to talk with the press, field their questions and defend the university's decision but in a way that was sympathetic to the concerns expressed by students. The larger issue here was the organization's right to practice free of speech at our publicly-funded university versus the pro-choice leanings of many of our students. In talking with the press, I walked this fine line by reaffirming the university's commitment to free speech, yet being emotionally-appropriate when discussing the concerns of students and even employees. The issue, though now over, points to the fact that communication can be and often is far more complex than one may think.