We live a culture of personality, where our actions are unethical. We aren’t taught to own up to our mistakes, and instead, our wrong-doings are rationalized into good decisions. It’s true that everyone tries to live good lives, but shit happens. So, why throw people in jail for the small stuff that may have been tipped off by society’s inequalities? I was watching the local news and the big story was some lady who stole Similac ( baby formula) from a grocery store. The newscaster said that if anyone should find her, report her to the police- becuase she deserves jail time ( sarcasm). I thought it was upsurd for them to even mention something like this after reporting about job losses and the beleaguered world economy. The poor woman was just trying to feed her kid, even if it meant stealing.
I read an opED by Maureen Dowd about the backwardness of why jerry sandusky was not exposed sooner. It’s a story of “don’t ask, don’t tell.” Everyone knew, but no one did anything. And for what? To protect someone’s image? Some pseudo local celebrity? I’m not sure if it’s just an American thing, but MORALS are definitely something our culture lacks.
The first time my morals were ever tested, I was scared straight. I was scared of what people would think of me, how the person involved would react and what would come next after I told the truth. I asked (2) friends what to do, and both said “don’t tell,” To protect myself and to move on with my life. But something in my gut, said to tell the truth, because if it was me, I would definitely want to know. It was my responsibility. I consulted with my friend Alex, and she encouraged me to tell the truth because at the end of the day it was not about me; it was about people who would come after me. And besides, it was not all my fault. It was scary to put my morals to the test and risk a total defamation of character. But who was i? So, I finally owned up to being a total adult and citizen of the world, and in retrospect, honesty will always trump everything! Till this day, I feel proud of myself for committing to the person I hold myself to be…
you can read the article here for yourself, and come to your own conclusions. Have we become a society of total narcissists, only thriving for the good of oneself and out of control unethical snobs? http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/17/opinion/sunday/dowd-moral-dystopia.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print
