What makes someone a "good" person? What does this vague, yet overly-used label, actually mean? Doesn't the definition depend on the values of the person making this judgment about another? Is there a universal "goodness" that we can all agree upon?

While some individuals naively claim, as I once did, that all people are "inherently good" or "good at heart," life teaches us that this notion is more fairy tale than reality. In truth, some people are rotten to the core. Don't get me wrong, they probably were not born that way, but in the end there are some creatures of pure evil that have lost all sense of what it means to be a decent human being. So, we cannot be persuaded into believing all people are good. We must address what this quality of "goodness" is.

Others would argue that a good person abides by a particular religious code of conduct. The problem with this is that throughout history there have been many, many examples of people who claimed to live by a certain religious code but yet used this code as justification to commit atrocious acts against other human beings. On the other hand, there are many examples of people who are compassionate, caring, generous, and humble who do not adhere to a particular religious doctrine. Are we any closer to knowing what goodness is?

What makes it even harder to get at the truth of this word is that values vary so much throughout history and from civilization to civilization. What is considered good in one society at any given time might be different in that same society a generation later or in a different society in the same time period. Consider for a moment that we used to believe that good people could discipline their children through physically and emotionally harmful punishment. Today, a good person would not even think about beating their child. Here's another example: a master who kept his slaves in submission was considered "good," as was a man who provided for his wife, while keeping her ignorant and homebound. Furthermore, a good man used to be entitled to rape his wife because he was supporting her financially. The point is: "goodness" is abstract and subjective.

The characteristics I identify as being that of a good person may be significantly different from those that someone else identifies. With that said, here is what I think constitutes an ideal good person:

1.Always considers the effects his actions could have on others

2.Thinks about his words carefully before he speaks

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