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American society today is fraught with a plethora of clashing and different views on similar issues. Everybody has their own set of values and definition of ethics, and at times everything just seems chaotic and disordered. I personally can't classify our country's ethics as being either "healthy" or "unhealthy". I think that there are way too many differences to be able to make such a general statement that summarizes America's ethical status. There are both ethical and unethical aspects of our society, but neither "surpasses" the other.

I think that the most obvious "ethical" aspect of the country is the fact that we are a democracy. I like that the people get a say in governmental decisions, and also that we are given our rights. I think that this ultimately makes America a thriving and desirable country. However, there are many unethical aspects to our country as well. There exists a lot of corruption in the government, such as lobbying. A lot of immoral acts and practices also take place in the country, such as human trafficking, which is actually estimated to be a $5-$9 billion-a-year industry. The fact that so much of this happens in America says something about its inability to stop these unethical practices from happening.

Although the country is ethically well-developed in many areas, there are also a number of areas that highlight its lack of ethics. I would like to see our government take more serious action to reduce these acts from occurring, as well as for our society to realize that corruption is detriment to our country. I think that it is due to many individuals' lack of and underdeveloped ethics that our country has unethical aspects. It isn't the country's problem; it is the people's problem. If everybody would adhere to their set of values and do what was best for the society and country, I think that our country would be closer to the desired level of ethics.

I think that society can do a better job of accepting the responsibility for its actions. As I mentioned already, if each individual adhered to his/her values and took responsibility for his/her on actions, it would be very beneficial to the country. Also, due to our many conflicting viewpoints and philosophies, our views on truth are very different. Naturally, it is difficult to accept the same things as "true" or "right", but I think that as long as we are open and tolerant of the views of others, there shouldn't be too much conflict in that it splits our country up. It's healthy to have conflicting viewpoints; it allows for the growth of the country and the opportunity to see something different than your own opinions.

Thanks to the First Amendment, we have the right of speech, and I think that we do demonstrate the courage to do/say what we think is right. Again, however, I believe that this can be done in a less offensive way, and that everybody should respect each others' opinions instead of obnoxiously declaring their own "true" views.

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