The pursuit of probity

According to the Talmud, the very first question that we are held accountable for after our deaths is "Nasata V'netata Be'emunah" which means "did you conduct your business affairs with honesty and with probity?" I had to look up probity: The quality of having strong moral principles; honesty and decency, so that seems clear if a bit redundant. I was thinking about this because a potential consulting project came across the transom that kind of gave me pause. I am a strong advocate for better human health, I don't invest in tobacco companies and I try to not work on anything that seems harmful or even superfluous (basically any product Allergan makes), but work has been slow and a case can be made that this product a "smokeless tobacco" basically like a chaw, something you put in your mouth (gross) deserves fair and balanced labeling from the FDA. Or do they? Even a murderer is entitled to a quality defense. It is one thing to outlow unhealthy choices all together, but then the whole personal choice question arises. This project is a long shot and not a great fit with my knowledge or interests but if it happened, would I take it and is that immoral? I don't really know the answer, and am not a big fan of hard and fast lines. When my son was about 4, one of our neighbors had a babysitter who smoked constantly, as all the kids and sitters hung out, I was worried about the second hand smoke. From my comments (LaShon Ha Ra!), my son knew that cigarettes were bad but then he made the leap to the person smoking cigarettes is bad. He didn't want to be around her and I think even told her she was bad for smoking. I also remember that this 50 something italian-american grandma with the classic Brooklyn rasp had bad allergies that she went for shots for. Quitting would have been good for her, but it wasn't going to happen. So then I had to explain to a spectacularly stubborn 4 year old that a bad habit does not make a bad person (and thank goodness for that). I don't think he truly believe me, but then years later he goes off to college and starts smoking cigarettes which didn't help his allergies either, so go figure. I don't think I would be a bad person for providing market strategy to a tobacco company, but I wouldn't be proud of my work either. During the high holidays I ran into a friend who asked about work and I shared my blues, he said something encouraging and I said something like I'm hopeful something will come along and he replied I hope something really good comes along, something that you enjoy and really want to do. Now that's something to pray on and maybe even hold out for.

One other note, on my morning walk, there was a really cute dog out on his own, came up to me, very sweet. Unfortunately with no glasses, I could not read the tag. What were my choices? Knock on nearby doors at 7:30 in the morning? Cut my walk short? I guess one of those could have been fine, but I decided "I didn't know what to do" so I walked on and then felt guilty. I hope the dog found its way home safely, no thanks to me.