While discussing with some friends today about their college essays, I came to some jarring conclusions about life. Feel free to read about it. You know you want to: Indentify and be ¿MyStiFieD?
Ethics is purely and simply defined as “A set of principles of right conduct”. It is simply put, and yet, it is the simplest part. To actually identify ethics in today’s modern society is rather difficult, if not impossible. There is no way to justify who is right and who is wrong. There are too many gray areas cast in the shadows of wrong and right. And if those gray areas cannot be shaded properly, then who is the one to judge ethics and values of a single person, let alone a whole nation?
One main example is speeding. The law says it is wrong. Of course speeding is wrong! Reckless speeds can cause accidents. A person’s car could be destroyed. So can other people’s cars and property. Even lives are at stake. The people who drive in the streets disagree. Sixty-Five miles an hour on the highway means, on the most part, a general rule of thumb of seventy-five miles an hour. It is almost standard on interstates down to the most remote local roads. It is a decision made by the driver at that very moment. He must decide on what is dangerous, and what is in his realm of safety. He decides what is right, and usually, that means getting home a little faster.
Another example would be smoking. It is bad for your health. It is against God’s morals. It culturally makes the person seem like he does not have any class. But then again, it is only in this culture where this ideology is presented. European countries and other foreign countries have allowed smoking to run rampant through the streets. In Europe, smoking is allowed within movie theatres. That is an unheard of policy within the United States. It’s differing acceptance in so many cultures makes it hard to properly identify an ethical value on the situation.
On the same note, alcohol consumption varies by culture. So does body art and body piercing. Even the simplest ideas of sushi and eating raw uncooked fish vary from culture to culture. One hundred years ago in America, one would most likely be stared at rather peculiarly for enjoying a bite-sized nibble of raw fish. Today it’s widely accepted as the artistic and worldly thing to do. Even the way people dress, the way people act, and the way people talk can be marked by some sort of ethics.
Quo Vadimus? Society as a whole cannot judge ethics and set a standard. After all, the United States is the melting pot of the world, with freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of individuality streaming through the blood of its citizens. There are just too many people in this society who believe in different things. One person’s wrong is another person’s right. To disagree on the matter would be to seem closed minded on the situation. And in the end, that is the only thing one can truly be ethically wrong at. (In this society of course).
Ethics is purely and simply defined as “A set of principles of right conduct”. It is simply put, and yet, it is the simplest part. To actually identify ethics in today’s modern society is rather difficult, if not impossible. There is no way to justify who is right and who is wrong. There are too many gray areas cast in the shadows of wrong and right. And if those gray areas cannot be shaded properly, then who is the one to judge ethics and values of a single person, let alone a whole nation?
One main example is speeding. The law says it is wrong. Of course speeding is wrong! Reckless speeds can cause accidents. A person’s car could be destroyed. So can other people’s cars and property. Even lives are at stake. The people who drive in the streets disagree. Sixty-Five miles an hour on the highway means, on the most part, a general rule of thumb of seventy-five miles an hour. It is almost standard on interstates down to the most remote local roads. It is a decision made by the driver at that very moment. He must decide on what is dangerous, and what is in his realm of safety. He decides what is right, and usually, that means getting home a little faster.
Another example would be smoking. It is bad for your health. It is against God’s morals. It culturally makes the person seem like he does not have any class. But then again, it is only in this culture where this ideology is presented. European countries and other foreign countries have allowed smoking to run rampant through the streets. In Europe, smoking is allowed within movie theatres. That is an unheard of policy within the United States. It’s differing acceptance in so many cultures makes it hard to properly identify an ethical value on the situation.
On the same note, alcohol consumption varies by culture. So does body art and body piercing. Even the simplest ideas of sushi and eating raw uncooked fish vary from culture to culture. One hundred years ago in America, one would most likely be stared at rather peculiarly for enjoying a bite-sized nibble of raw fish. Today it’s widely accepted as the artistic and worldly thing to do. Even the way people dress, the way people act, and the way people talk can be marked by some sort of ethics.
Quo Vadimus? Society as a whole cannot judge ethics and set a standard. After all, the United States is the melting pot of the world, with freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of individuality streaming through the blood of its citizens. There are just too many people in this society who believe in different things. One person’s wrong is another person’s right. To disagree on the matter would be to seem closed minded on the situation. And in the end, that is the only thing one can truly be ethically wrong at. (In this society of course).
posted by Allen M @ 12/05/2001 01:12:00 AM
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