Do the ends justify the means?
A personal reflection on MYOPIC DUPLICITY
Hi, I’m Jeff Circle, creator of The Writer’s Dossier, host of the Writer’s Dossier Podcast, and editor of MYOPIC DUPLICITY, a crime thriller anthology made up of 16 short stories that asks, “Do the ends ever justify the means?”
That’s a good question. Do they? Do the ends ever justify the means? That’s a saying because it’s something people have been asking each other for ages. In the all things I’m doing, I often consider my actions—the means—and I ask, are they good? Or are they just good for me?
What about the scales upon which our deeds are weighed? Is it OK for us to, oh, I don’t know, lie to or deceive someone if you feel we’ve done “a lot of other things” for that person? Things that you put on the “good” list to feel better about what you’ve done?
People often ask why I chose the title MYOPIC DUPLICITY for my crime thriller anthology, and it’s an easy answer. I’ve seen way more than my share of people acting in ways that disregard the interest of others. Their actions are shortsighted and selfish, and they simply fail to do what’s right. Myopic. Maybe the just can’t help themselves. The duplicity comes into play when that same person acts as if the rules don’t apply to them, only others. They may even go so far as to condemn others for things they’d do themselves. You’ve seen it in life. Insatiable egos feed more self-justified deception that leads to more and more sharper dealings. At some point, these people even start believing their own bullshit. The narcissist awakens and slays any reflection of common decency.
As a cop and a federal investigator, I questioned hundreds of people for various reasons. I’ve also worked as a counterintelligence specialist where I used field polygraph methods that focused on deception detection. I’m no spy, but I can see why certain people do what they do. Still, I don’t tolerate lying. Some of you know exactly what I’m talking about.
MYOPIC DUPLICITY goes much further than dishonesty and deception. It moves the decimal a few spaces to things like infidelity, grand theft larceny, abusive manipulation, and homicide. But the thing about these stories that make it real for each of us is the judgement we all hold when we hear about someone doing something bad. We all have it. Judgement. Especially when we’ve been wronged in life. Trust betrayed. Treasure squandered. The equity of good deeds over many years erased in one moment by ego and the loss of self-control.
Now, neither you nor I will probably ever be faced with deciding whether to murder someone, but in these stories, you might find yourself inclined to understand why someone did what they did. Consider our first story by Rob Hart. Do you think you could sympathize with a loving father who would have a random juvenile killed because it meant that his own son could live?
Or, what if, over the period of a few weeks, your spouse suddenly changes everything about themselves. Things get very weird. You even go through their phone. And because you made them your business partner in the tech company you built, they’re now in a position to take everything you have. Would you kill them for it? Of course you wouldn’t. But would you want to? Mindy Carlson walks us through that one.
Other riveting stories by Edgar Winner Erin Flanagan, Derringer Winner C.W. Blackwell, Anthony-nominated Ash Clifton, Matt Phillips, Eric Beetner, Christopher Swann, Victor De Anda, Terrence McCauley, M.E. Proctor, and other incredible writers today give you some jaw-dropping scenarios that slaps the means vs ends argument right at your feet.
These stories aren’t mind benders designed to keep you up at night, but they do entertain. Life imitates art, so you can always find things you can identify in your own lives or in someone you know.
Hopefully you’ll finish MYOPIC DUPLICITY and think, well, at least I’ll never have to go through that! Who knows. Maybe you will. Control what you can control, always try to do the right thing.
But don’t ever lie to me.