When Gwen discovered she was pregnant, she quickly took a job that offered medical insurance and said nothing about her condition. A couple of months later, she was laid off, leaving her with no insurance.

Although she had kept her pregnancy secret, Gwen went to a lawyer. They decided to sue her employer claiming she was terminated because the company found out she was pregnant. When Gwen told her friend Ann about this, Ann was appalled, "That’s dishonest!" she said.

Gwen responded angrily, "Don’t be so judgmental. I had no choice. I’m doing what I have to do. You’d do the same thing in my situation."

Ann said, "No, I wouldn’t. That’s not the way I was brought up."

It’s easy to sympathize with Gwen. While her decision to lie is understandable, it’s not justifiable. It’s fraud, plain and simple. Unless we are willing to endorse the right of everyone to lie to get what they think they deserve, we must insist Gwen find another solution.

Both personal responsibility and the integrity of social programs are undermined by a rampant entitlement mentality that goes something like this: "Whatever I want, I need. Whatever I need, I deserve. I have a right to do whatever is necessary to get what I deserve."

Similarly, I worry about the all-too-quick resort of claiming needfulness to justify dishonorable behavior. Nietzsche once warned against granting moral immunity based on dubious exigencies. "Necessity is not a fact. It’s an interpretation."

In a world where "me-first" rationalizations place personal wants and needs above moral principles, we will all become victims sooner or later.

This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.