Ethical?
Ethics remains a questionable topic not in the principle or intention, but in the subjective idea of when the ethical line is crossed. Like any other event, multiple sides of the story exist and with this in mind, one must consider how such a vague “line” determines whether one acts in an ethical or unethical manner. The tragedy 12 years ago remains appalling, but surely 4,383 days later, an ad by AT&T can exist without being called “‘tacky,’ ‘terrible,’ and ‘gross’ among other criticisms.” The ad consisted of a “photo of a hand against the New York skyline, holding up a smartphone to take a photo of…where the twin towers used to stand.” I understand the tragedy of thousands of deaths, and I truly sympathize with those who lost loved ones, but nevertheless AT&T remains a telecommunications corporation that has a sole purpose of expanding its clientele and dominating the market. AT&T did not exploit overseas labour costs, bribe, nor (as we know) have any horrendous working conditions, or have intentions to ridicule the suffering and pain of 9/11. They simply had a photo of ground zero which allowed them to fulfill its “one and only one social responsibility: to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits” (Friedman).
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