My OperaMorality: A Private Affair
Wednesday, May 31, 2006 4:43:09 PM
Morality, that ever elusive, always subjective touchstone of "right" and "wrong" behavior, is continually hijacking the National dialogue . . . and rightly so -- its an important subject.
You'll notice that most media-discussions of morality seem to imply (if not state) that there exists a single version or concept of morality (i.e., these things are good, these things are evil, etc.) and that that one concept should become the standard for our society's behavior.
Don't believe it! Don't believe it for these two reasons:
1) There is no one-size-fits-all moral code. Morality is a complex, very personal set of beliefs that guide an individual's thoughts and actions. Each person's moral code is based on what that person has learned, experienced, conceived and has come to believe.
2) Morality is not the only influence on behavior; one of the other important influences is situational ethics. (Killing another person, for example, is almost universally considered immoral in civilized societies but, in the context of self-defense, killing another person may be an acceptable behavior.)
So am I suggesting that our society is (and should be) made up of hundreds of thousands of "loose cannons," each with his or her own moral standards?
In fact, YES, that's exactly what I'm suggesting.
Fortunately however we have a couple mechanisms in place for controlling any chaos that might arise from all of these different belief systems: society itself and the legal system.
* If a person's actions offend a person or group the person is normally censured by the offended party.
* if a person's actions are far enough out of line to 'offend' the legal system, the offender faces legal penalties.
Note that neither the social or legal system judges morality itself -- they judge behavior; nor is either system intended to be, or replace, an individual's moral beliefs . . . these systems are more like roadblocks put in place to set limits -- not limits on beliefs but limits on behaviors.
So, when confronted with the proposition that morality should be publicly mandated, reject it. Morality is and should remain a personal issue.
You'll notice that most media-discussions of morality seem to imply (if not state) that there exists a single version or concept of morality (i.e., these things are good, these things are evil, etc.) and that that one concept should become the standard for our society's behavior.
Don't believe it! Don't believe it for these two reasons:
1) There is no one-size-fits-all moral code. Morality is a complex, very personal set of beliefs that guide an individual's thoughts and actions. Each person's moral code is based on what that person has learned, experienced, conceived and has come to believe.
2) Morality is not the only influence on behavior; one of the other important influences is situational ethics. (Killing another person, for example, is almost universally considered immoral in civilized societies but, in the context of self-defense, killing another person may be an acceptable behavior.)
So am I suggesting that our society is (and should be) made up of hundreds of thousands of "loose cannons," each with his or her own moral standards?
In fact, YES, that's exactly what I'm suggesting.
Fortunately however we have a couple mechanisms in place for controlling any chaos that might arise from all of these different belief systems: society itself and the legal system.
* If a person's actions offend a person or group the person is normally censured by the offended party.
* if a person's actions are far enough out of line to 'offend' the legal system, the offender faces legal penalties.
Note that neither the social or legal system judges morality itself -- they judge behavior; nor is either system intended to be, or replace, an individual's moral beliefs . . . these systems are more like roadblocks put in place to set limits -- not limits on beliefs but limits on behaviors.
So, when confronted with the proposition that morality should be publicly mandated, reject it. Morality is and should remain a personal issue.
You must be 
