Wednesday, December 12, 2007
On Doing the Right Thing
Where has simple common sense morality gone?
In all my wanderings on the internet, I am astounded at how complicated seemingly simple issues have become. I am even more astounded at the twisted logic people use to justify ignoring common sense morality.
After asserting that I believe people have a right to defend themselves, I have been accused of being a lover of bloodsport.
After stating that, upon seeing your neighbor’s house being burgled, I believe it is your duty to do more than simply call 911 if it is within your power to do so, I was told that I would be a dangerous neighbor because I’d likely shoot my neighbor if they were shoveling their driveway in a ski mask.
After stating that I would probably die if given the choice between executing an innocent prisoner and being shot myself, I was told I am a liar since I can never know how I would react upon being put in that situation, and I’d probably wimp out anyway so taking a moral stance is hypocrisy.
After arguing that nuking Japan saved lives on all sides and was better for all in the long run, I was told that we as a country and I in particular should just give up the pretense of being peaceful and progressive people.
After stating that I don’t think morality is subjective, I was told that morality does not really exist at all.
How did we get to this point, where common everyday people are either not able to identify what the right thing is, are unwilling to do it, or both? I am astounded at the mental contortions necessary to come to conclusions like this, and intentional or unintentional misinterpretation of the moral point of view, seemingly inevitable because the opposition doesn’t even have the same moral framework from which to start evaluating a situation.
Have we become too smart for our own good? Has Ivory Tower intellectual philosophizing been pushed down into the collective consciousness to the point that everything is over-intellectualized, and people have managed to kill off their own moral compass?
I don’t have to prove I exist. I know I exist. And I don’t have to explain how I know, I just do.
I don’t have to prove my senses aren’t lying to me. The assertion that a Matrix-type situation may exist does not in any way impact the “realness” of this world.
I don’t have to accept that science is bunk, that cause and effect are a fraud. I think it is perfectly rational to expect that an experiment giving the same result a million times will give the same result the millionth plus one time.
And most of all, I don’t feel a strong compulsion to explain where morality comes from. Some people say it comes from God, some people say it is innate in our nature. I don’t really care what the real source is. The fact is, morality exists. It IS.
I once heard it said that you will get better moral guidance from a simple farmer than an intellectual philosopher, because the philosopher will cloud a simple issue with irrelevant assertions and arguments, needlessly complicating a simple question. The farmer trusts his gut, his common-sensical sense of right and wrong, and will give you a simple straight answer. The more people I talk to, the more I think this is right.
But where has that gut-feeling-morality gone? Maybe I overestimate the common man in times past, but I don’t think so. Honor and duty are not things we hear about much anymore. Much to our detriment.
Comments
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We’ve become so comfortable, so prosperous, so pampered, that we reject anything that might endanger that even so far as making us uncomfortable mentally or physically.
People these days avoid absolutes because they make them unhappily aware that their upholstered life is wrong. They rationalize to protect their access to entertainment & blissful ignorance.
I don’t know about “gut-feeling” morality, though. You can find a lot of people with gut feelings that aren’t right. I think there must be a way to encapsulate “morality” but I haven’t managed it yet.
Weetabix | 12/13/2007 11:55 AM CDT -
I agree, that gut-feeling morality that I’m talking about is something that used to be taught from a young age until it became a gut-feeling. I think now, since we are told that disciplining our children is inappropriate, they never get that, and later on they are taught to rationalize whatever behavior they do decide is appropriate.
I guess what shocks me a little bit is not just that lack of morality, but the astounding amount of effort that is put into rationalizing that immorality. And then the assertion that since all morality boils down to rationalizations, none is really superior to another, so stop trying to push yours on me.
It’s a symptom of a society that is heavy on book smarts and light on common sense.
American Farmer | 12/13/2007 05:42 PM CDT -
The rationalizing gets rather circular, doesn’t it?
There are a great many times in life where people astound me with the amount of effort they’ll put into the wrong thing.
Weetabix | 12/13/2007 05:53 PM CDT -
Well said, BCross. That brings to mind AF’s “Life & Death” post a bit. I think you’re right.
Weetabix | 12/14/2007 09:27 AM CDT -
As you well know, over the past many generations there has been a steady migration to the large cities and population centers. This has taken many away from the family farms and small holdings that used to exist. When I was a child, (many many years ago), most people had a relative that had a farm or knew someone that had a farm, and therefore had at least second hand knowledge of where things had come from. Now days, the majority of the population have been removed from that kind of exposure and no longer have any knowledge of farm life or the process of living and dying.
The demise of the small farm has had many “unintended consequences” in that people are no longer involved in what the Indians used to call the “circle of life.” As you know, on the farm, you make and revise your plans for the growing seasons many times, be it crops or animals for market. If you guess wrong or don’t plan things well enough, you get first hand feedback in your market prices. If you have a bad year weather wise or other wise, it is you and your family and your immediate neighbors that deal with the consequences, not some beauracrat in some distant city.
You are directly involved in the day to day goings on on the farm. The life and death of your crops and animals is immediate and personal. You are a key player in that circle of life.
Even living in a small country town where you can walk out of the town limits in a short time, you are still more aware of the seasons and cycles of country life. Maybe you just go to the local farmers market or roadside vegatable stand, but you are still aware of the seasons for the produce or know when “Farmer Jones” is calving, or when lambing season begins. People in the cities and major urban areas have become so distant and removed from that side of life, that they are not completely aware of the consequences of their actions or inactions.Missouri Mule in Colorado | 12/14/2007 01:01 PM CDT -
Couple that disconnect with a disconnection from where money comes from and how it works, and you have the makings of real trouble.
Think about it: people used to be paid cash or via check that they then cashed. Now, there’s direct deposit, credit cards, title loans, etc. Youngsters seem to have no idea of the value of a dollar, so they don’t value it.
People are severely disconnected from cause and effect.
I worry about the future.
Weetabix | 12/14/2007 02:21 PM CDT -
I think it’s all of these things, plus a desperate need to avoid facing the truth. The common sense morality is still there underneath all the crap--I really think it is. And most people know it’s there, deeep down. But the actions we would have to take if we listened to that voice are...well, they’re hard, aren’t they? It’s so much easier if we can just find an excuse not to have to listen, or believe.
Andrew | 12/14/2007 04:21 PM CDT -
This is the main threat to out soiciety, allmost no one I meet would know “the right thing” let alone do it, I have dodged the right thing enough to realise that when you let yourself down it feels real bad inside and is just not worth it, so there must be a whole lot of denial going on. Maybe if enough of us bring up the next generation right then it will iron itself out (or another godawfull war like 1939)
Chris Edwards | 12/25/2007 05:09 PM CDT
