The Mayor
The Mayor’s type of story has been told again and again; not only in America, but throughout history as well. A person obtains a position of power and then ends up abusing that power to receive more benefits for himself/herself. It is understandable for a politician to network with businesses and other organizations; however, accepting all of these gifts takes it a bit too far. I don’t see how accepting all these lavish gifts are for the greater good. If the Mayor wanted to make accepting these gifts ethical, then he would donate those gifts to charity or at least respectively decline. I believe that Locke wouldn’t have approached the problem the same way I have. From the readings and the lecture, it seems that Locke’s outlook is to believe in the best of people. I believe that Locke would argue that the Mayor is simply trying to network with businesses and organizations to help the town in the future.
College Instructor
The college instructor is doing something, or better yet, not doing something that most instructors don’t do. Most instructors don’t update their course material. In the high school environment, teachers have no say as to what must be taught. They are given specific items that students must be taught year after year. In college, I would imagine that it is similar. There would be some type of academic board that decides what must be taught in a certain class to meet the requirements for that class. The teacher could make the effort to change some of the material, but she would probably be told to keep the old material because it is already approved. If the instructor stays with the college after receiving her doctorate then I believe that what she is doing is for the greater good. After she has her doctorate she will be much more useful to the school. She will have acquired a vast amount of knowledge that can then be used to update her class material and then have it approved by the academic board, so she may teach it. Locke would agree with me on this one. Based on his ethics of believing that everyone is inherently good, he would say she is doing the right thing. Although she isn’t going above and beyond in her job currently, she is striving to complete her doctorate. This will allow her to help more students and the college in the long run.
Todd and Edna
The story of Todd and Edna is one of which I am very familiar. I have seen this happen multiple times to people I went to high school with. My younger cousin has also made this type of mistake. Believe me when I say it, it is a mistake. Having a baby to fix a relationship issue is like buying a new car because your old one ran out of gas. What Todd and Edna are doing is downright stupid. These two are creating another human being before they are truly ready as a couple. This could result in a seriously broken childhood for the baby. As far as I’m concerned, the ends do not justify the means and there is no greater good to be served by their decision.
Honestly, I’m not sure what Locke would have to say in this situation. I am truly at a loss for what his point of view may be.

Resources
Ruggiero, V. (2001). Thinking Critically About Ethical Issues, 8th Edition. McGraw-Hill Learning Solutions.