Do My Morals Come Into Play?
When you’ve been working in the film and video industry as long as I have, especially in the corporate sector, you work with a true variety of clients. I’ve done work with the armed forces, corporations, government entities both left and right leaning, small independent companies, individuals, and everything in-between. But I was asked by a friend and long-time colleague if I would ever turn down a job based on my own moral objection and it got me thinking. Would I?
The short answer is yes, absolutely I would. I’m trying to get myself stable and established as a company in this industry but I have scruples.
The longer answer is more complex than that. I am a self-proclaimed Jewish kid from New Jersey. Take from that description what you will. I’m sure you can surmise my own personal leanings in terms of politics, but that’s not the point. I believe in what I believe in and I live my life by a simple edict. Don’t try to convince me that your deeply held political or religious beliefs are right and I’m wrong and I won’t do the same. So, that brings me to the crux of the issue. I don’t often work directly for these end-clients. I work for a hiring company who then subcontracts me to do a job. Simple enough, I know and trust my contacts at these companies who are hiring me and I know they would never throw me or my colleagues to the wolves.
What happens in those instances that I am morally unaligned with the end client? For every client that aligns perfectly with my own beliefs, political stances, and moral ideations, there are a thousand more that do not. Generally, this doesn’t bother me. I have worked for a church service every year for the past I don’t even remember how long and they have quickly become one of my absolute favorite clients. It doesn’t hurt that they hold their massive service in the arena located on my alma mater’s grounds and returning for a three day setup and show feels like returning home in a sense. But that aside, as I stated earlier, I’m Jewish! I went through 13 years of Hebrew school, I was named in my synagogue, I was Bar Mitzvah'd, I am for all intents and purposes Jewish. So how has a church become one of my favorites? Put simply, even after all of that word salad, the people. Not once have I come across a member of the church staff or congregation member who has treated me as less than because of my doctrine of faith, nor has anyone tried to convert me. The people I’ve met have been the warmest, most welcoming, truly spectacular people I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. We may only ever see each other once a year, but my contact recently saw me at my station, screamed with joy, and said “I HOPED IT WAS YOU!” I cannot begin to tell you how much that meant to me as someone who often feels like being invisible is the better option. It’s never been “Oh you should come to our service, I’m sure you’ll love it!” or “You know we have a lot in common, Judaism and Christianity.” It’s always been and hopefully will continue to be “I’m so glad to see you!” and the feeling is always mutual. When the professional obligations are out of the way (how would you like the event to look, where are we streaming, how’s the audio levels, etc.), I truly enjoy catching up with my valued contacts.
So what about those times when I truly do not align with the subject matter at hand. While I refuse to get into specifics, I have worked some truly repugnant events. Ones that made me want to donate a significant amount of money to their opposing charities. Do I ever begrudge the companies who hire me on these shows? Absolutely not! These are the people who are trusting me to do the job and do it well regardless of who the client is. That’s a reputation I refuse to let go because I have moral objections. At the end of the day, I’m not supporting these causes. I’m literally there to do the job, send the invoice, and go home to my family. As I said before, don’t try to convince me that you’re right, I won’t try to convince you that you’re wrong. I can sleep at night knowing that my life is more than my job.
If there’s ever a problem with that, I really don’t want to hear it. A job is just that. It’s a job. I simply have the luxury of saying no if I have to, or if I truly do not want to.
Anyway, that was a lot, and if you managed to read that whole post, here’s a random fun fact. The official national animal of Scotland is the unicorn, chosen for its ancient Celtic symbolism of purity and power. I know this because we went to Scotland on our honeymoon. It’s our favorite place in the world…well location wise. My favorite place in the world is wherever my family is.
