A reflection on moral standards in the digital age

💡 The Buffett Standard

There's a story about Warren Buffett taking over Salomon Brothers in the eighties, following a scandal in the bond trading department. The firm had been caught submitting false bids in Treasury auctions—massive fraud that threatened to destroy one of Wall Street's most powerful institutions.

Buffett was brought in as both a shrewd economic businessman and someone who genuinely seemed to conduct himself according to his principles. He was a value investor who understood how to save money, but more importantly, he had a reputation for integrity that Wall Street desperately needed to see.

Every day, traders came to him with questions. Could they make this trade? Was this behavior acceptable? Did it skirt the new restrictions? Buffett grew tired of the constant ethical consultations.

So he issued a company-wide edict:

Before you do anything, ask yourself one question: Would you be comfortable if this appeared as a headline in The New York Times tomorrow morning? Something your friends, family, and mother would read?
If the answer is no, don't do it.

It's brilliant advice. Simple wisdom that cuts through all the noise.

📺 The Kimmel Contradiction

But here's what happened just this week: Jimmy Kimmel did exactly what Buffett warned against—except worse. Kimmel made comments on his ABC show suggesting that Tyler Robinson, the man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk, was aligned with Trump's MAGA movement. He didn't just say something he wouldn't want on the front page of the Times—he broadcast it to millions on national television.

And what happened? ABC pulled his show indefinitely.

🎭 Free Speech. NOT FREE FROM CONSEQUENCES.

The fascinating part isn't that Kimmel got consequences for his words—it's how the left immediately turned this into a free speech martyrdom. They fundamentally misunderstand both the letter and spirit of free speech.

What Kimmel did was free speech. He exercised his right to say whatever he wanted on his forty-million-dollar-a-year platform. But free speech doesn't mean freedom from consequences. That's what makes people who speak truth to power heroic—they accept the cost.

Take Charlie Kirk himself. He spoke his beliefs openly on college campuses, often at his own expense, sometimes facing real danger. He died for expressing his views. Meanwhile, Kimmel "bravely" spouted off from his ABC studio, then acted like a victim when he faced consequences.

That's pathetic.

The fact that journalists and politicians are rallying to Kimmel's defense as a free speech cause proves they don't understand the First Amendment. They also don't understand the lesson Warren Buffett was teaching those Salomon traders—who were themselves fairly disreputable, much like the people defending Kimmel now.

📱 The Social Media Epidemic

We're forty years removed from Buffett's moment. And every day, I watch people willingly, gleefully behaving in ways that would embarrass their families.

And it's not hidden on some back page. It's blasted across social media where everyone they know can see it.

The problem? Half these people's spouses and mothers are doing the same thing.

🚗 Digital Road Rage

Social media unleashed something akin to road rage. You scream at drivers who can't see or hear you—things you'd never say to their face. The screen creates distance. The distance creates cruelty.

I'm guilty too. We all are.

I've written things in anger that I wouldn't want thrown back in my face. Things I'd never say face-to-face. Though I admit there are exceptions—terrorist supporters deserve whatever they get.

💻 The Path Forward

But there's a flip side. We all have supercomputers in our pockets, increasingly powered by AI—we can get any fact or data point or article link with the click of a button. We also know that places like YouTube and Facebook feature three-hour long interviews and debates between people interested in the discussion of ideas, particularly the ones upon which we disagree.

Now I know not everybody enjoys conflict. But all of this should guide discussions toward the best ideas based on results, not based on feelings, or by pursuing the goal of domination.

⚖️ The Need for Moderation

This is moderation in action. And moderation requires tempering our worst impulses...even when facing people saying things we think are wrong or terrible. Very often this sentiment is born of a misunderstanding, accidental or deliberate, of the other person's reasons, intentions, and character. This is why Charlie Kirk was murdered.

Buffett's job was realigning Salomon toward honesty. That required people to conduct themselves honorably. Hence the newspaper test.

I don't know how we restore that same sense of accountability for people who flaunt their bad behavior publicly. Some put it right in their social media handles. And this goes beyond your typical misfits and trolls.

This includes teachers, doctors, lawyers, politicians.

Everyone's trying to become a Real Housewife of Shitsville.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 The Parental Test

So what's the point? Maybe this is just stream-of-consciousness thinking. But it seems clear that we need to stop excusing bad behavior from people on "our side" just because we share their politics, religion, or sports teams.

My yardstick isn't the New York Times test. It's simpler:

If my kids did this thing or said this thing, would I be upset with them? Would I tell them not to do it—like lying or badmouthing another child?

The answer is always yes.

Then I ask: If I conducted myself this way and they found out, would I be embarrassed?

If yes, I shouldn't be doing it.

"Embarrassed" isn't even strong enough. Ashamed is more like it. That is what Buffett was attempting to impart to the traders at Salomon Bros. Do not shame yourself and you’ll be fine.

Yet that doesn't seem to matter anymore.

🧭 The Conclusion

There's a life lesson buried in here somewhere. I just can't figure out what it is.

Maybe it's as simple as this: apply the same rules to yourself you apply to your kids. Shame isn't a relic—it's a compass. The question is whether we're willing to follow it.

🚨ATTN: THE KINGMAKER, the 5th novel in the Amazon best selling Eddie Ankin Crime Thrillers releases in ebook on September 30, 2025.

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