Has the idea of personal morals been eliminated in today's society?

No

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by Freyda Tartak

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There is a tendency to look back fondly on 'the good old days,' and assume that life was simpler and better. These days, things are different. There is a lack of discipline and moral values are on the decline.

There is more crime. Our kids can't play outside alone. People don't flock to church anymore. Kids are a little too aware of their own rights, so parents and educators are limited in how much they can enforce rules that are meant to guide and mold them into moral and good people.

That's rubbish. In truth, crime has not gotten any worse. We are just more aware of it. Technology has made it possible to for people to be more intimately involved in events that happen somewhere other than in their local sphere. Less things are able to be swept under the rug with so many people being so eager to share more than they probably should.

Yes, kids are less respectful to their parents and authority figures but, that does not mean that we are headed toward Anarchy. Quite the opposite. These kids will have their own and will be better equipped to deal with a bunch of brats that refuse to follow what's what. We are the intermediate phase in the evolution of our culture.

Yes, people live further away from their families and are not as religious as they used to be. But, what that has done is limited the ability to let others guide their moral fiber into adulthood. At the end of the day, people are generally not hermits and have to live together in some sort of generally accepted way. While the old rules don't apply anymore, rules are still essential to a cohesive society. It is impossible to live, perpetually, with loose and lawless ethics.

Morals may have changed but, they have not been eliminated. Even in a jungle there are ways to do things and failures are punished swiftly. Even in chaos there is a devine order. When people reject one system of doing things they can only float around without a plan for so long, just like free particles after an explosion. Things will settle down and a stronger, more cohesive nation will emerge.

In the good old days, people did as they were told. Morals and ethics were dictated and enforced with a vigor that does not exist today. Now, people do not have the same societal support networks for developing the morals that seemed to be plain common sense because they were so common. In a way, this is the fault of the separation between Church and State.

No doubt, there must be such a separation. Not everybody believes in the same church. But, the State has not picked up the slack. Partly, this is because we live in a Democracy and it is far too complex an issue. Moral dilemas are being addressed slowly, on a first-come-first-ser ve basis, when they are challenged within the court system and those that push them forward have the financial means to do so.

Does this mean that if you can't afford to argue what is morally right, you are left out of the conversation? Yes, it does. Is that fair? No, it isn't. Is that new? No, it's not. In fact, unless there has been strength in numbers in pushing forward particular ideals, it has always been for the rich and powerful to decide what is and is not okay. How else can you explain that we even had to argue for the definition of person to be expanded to include women and blacks?

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