|
Search this Blog:
Subscribe to Blog:
[ Friends ]
|
|
|
|
Posted At: 10:04am by Rachel Engebretson
|
[As an assignment for my English class, the professor asked us to write a paper based on our opinion of the moral state of America today. Here are my thoughts on the subject apart from theological considerations. Because of the effects of sin, we know the world continually becomes more corrupt. However, questions still remain: Will America fail based on a trend of moral dissent? Will the suppression of religious, specifically, Christian ideals be the end of our country, or will it somehow prevail?]
----
Children are naturally trusting and naïve. Concerned parents try to protect their children’s safety by instructing them to trust only certain people, including teachers and police officers. While both vocations are certainly expected to have the capacity to uphold good moral conduct, they often fall considerably short in today’s society. In recent news, a South Carolina middle-school teacher was arrested and sent to prison to serve a nominal six year term for having sex with five minors over the course of several years. In turn, a police officer was fired after severely beating a woman to unconsciousness. These two examples are only a handful of the constant barrage of similar situations happening daily in the United States of America. If America is to remain a moral society, upholding the healthy lives of its citizens, it seems to have failed. Over the course of history, however, there has been no example of a perfect moral society withstanding the test of time. Therefore, according to history, America will follow in natural moral dissent. America has not become a more moral society; instead, it becomes increasingly worse every year as should be expected.
Morals in basic form are the duty and justification of the preservation of human life. Consequently, the moral system within a government often determines its success. The responsibility of maintaining morality in a country rests largely on the shoulders of the government (Aristotle 650). The government today is often perceived as corrupt, unable, or unwilling to help uphold moral standards within America. As a result of this thought process, people turn to their personal convictions as a moral compass.
Marya Mannes further explains, in her essay, “The Thin Gray Line,” the evaluation of moral standing as a line with varying degrees of darkness and thickness (220). If America’s moral line is gray and thinning, as she claims, examples of moral failure would be obvious along with the no concept of personal responsibility. In many ways, her predictions become stronger as the line continues to gray and thin. Many American citizens no longer feel the need to uphold the law or help others at their own expense.
Ancient Rome faced a parallel situation in 9th century B.C. Rome’s seemingly infallible defense system of frequently lost lives enabled them to strategically dominate other countries while simultaneously defending themselves. Sexual and murderous escapades were exploited and rarely enforced. The gladiator system of entertainment was the symbolic atmosphere of a failing Rome, allowing precious human lives to be violently annihilated in staged combat. The eventual downfall of Rome was the lack of personal support for basic humanity, even while they were the strongest nation in the world. Additionally, the Soviet Union, the former government in Russia and led by Mikhail Gorbachev, was primarily structured on a communistic atheistic principle which devalued life and suppressed religious suggestion. Without moral checks and balances, Gorbachev’s own people crippled him with rebellions through economic means, causing the mighty Soviet Union to also eventually fail.
After considering historical examples of nations with similar strengths and weaknesses, it is helpful to examine the results of moral conduct in our generation. Many people do not necessarily want to be the “hero,” as defined by Mannes. John M. Darley and Bibb Latane explained citizens’ actions of failure to help those in need as being driven by fear for themselves rather than fear for others (140-45). A striking example of this fact is detailed by reporter Martin Gansberg. While a woman was being beaten and killed in full view of her apartment complex, not one resident called the police until after she was killed. Thirty-eight people witnessed the event yet had several excuses as to why they did not report the incident. Excuses ranged from witnesses who were too tired to witnesses who did not want to interfere (87). While blatant death without aid is not necessarily a common occurrence, the incident illustrated how the average American may not step out of his or her comfort of safety to help someone else. Witnesses are often privy to a crime, either doing nothing in the situation or keeping it secret entirely. There was widespread outrage against a college student, David Cash, after he watched his friend rape a girl in a bathroom stall, yet did not report the crime or discourage his friend from the act. The mother of the girl worked for a “Good Samaritan” law. The law’s purpose would make silent witness illegal. However, there is no such legislation applied to our nation today. It would be near impossible to punish every person according to their personal moral decisions. However, the unfortunate reality remains as simple as the consequence. Individualistic morality cannot allow for more than one person to benefit.
Friedrich Nietzsche, a 19th century philosopher, believed the conventional discipline of morality was against nature itself. Fundamental human passions were to be embraced, not refused. As long as passions were “spiritualized,” or made to be good,
morality would result (697-710). While this revolutionary concept is interesting, it is not at all plausible. Nietzsche continually failed to mention specifics of his moral definitions in writing, almost as if they would materialize as magically as the process of spiritualizing passions. While his philosophy is difficult to understand, many aspects of it are becoming reality in our culture. People do continually embrace their passions, dismissing the moral responsibility as something to happen seemingly out of nowhere. If an act feels good to an individual, how can anyone contradict his or her happiness? It may feel very pleasing for a teacher to molest a child, feeling the love between them is a spiritualized sin. Thankfully, we do have laws enacted in our country to halt many destructive passions. American justice must continually recognize crimes and act accordingly if the country is to prosper.
The American justice system does have a distinct responsibility to identify; however, the government has shifted considerably in favor of more broadly defined rules of morality. Many people argue that their passions are justified and should be protected under law. As a result, many states have allowed gay marriage to become legal. Some individuals also think aborting a child would be beneficial for themselves and, therefore, moral. The government in recent years has acted accordingly more in favor of the individual than anyone else affected by a certain situation. As the thin gray line of morality continues to become more blurred and indefinable, human lives will become causalities in the process, much like Ancient Rome’s lack of support for humanity and the Soviet Union’s moral suppression.
The downfall of America has increased considerably as the result of its own citizens deciding to work solely for themselves rather than for the good of the nation. Once such a trend is initiated, it is difficult to reverse until the current state of moral conduct dies and rises revamped in a different form. History has proven the power of individualistic thinking as dangerous to the good of the human species as a whole. As countless examples of this moral degradation flash across our television screens, or even in front of us in real time, it should be evident to us how close America is coming to an eventual moral downfall.
|
Posted On: February 22nd, 2008 at 1:10pm by luvable lutheran |
Well said.
|
Comment on entry entitled "The Inevitable Moral Degeneration of America"
You may use BBCode within your posts, a reference is available here.
|
|
|
|
