Question: Is Chewing Gum the "Right" Thing to Do?
Form groups of three or four people, and appoint one member as the spokesperson who will communicate your findings to the class when called on by the instructor. Then discuss the following scenario:
In the United States the right to chew gum is taken for granted. Although it is often against the rules to chew gum in a high school classroom, church, and so on, it is legal to do so on the street. If you possess or chew gum on a street in Singapore, you can be arrested. Chewing gum has been made illegal in Singapore because those in power believe it creates a mess on pavements and feel that people cannot be trusted to dispose of their gum properly and thus should have no right to use it.
1. What makes chewing gum acceptable in the United States and unacceptable in Singapore?
2. Why can you chew gum on the street but not in a church?
3. How can you use ethical principles to decide when gum chewing is ethical or unethical and if and when it should be made illegal?