Ethics

In contemplating the ethos of our society, actions can be broken down into four categories 1.Legal and moral 2.Legal and immoral 3.Moral and illegal 4.Immoral and illegal The first group includes most daily activities of most people The second area is somewhat up in the air and on a controversial scale includes things like lying, adultery, abortion, homosexual behavior and pot smoking. Third on the list are times like when the colonist rose up against the king or when blacks sat in white only restaurants. This is an area where personal belief systems conflict with the law. For many moralist it is acceptable to disobey the law when it runs up against personal convictions but those who do so must be willing to accept the consequences. The forth category involves thing like murder and stealing. Societies find certain behaviors if left unchecked can destroy the community and they therefor agree that these activities cannot be tolerated. Back in my youth we listened to radio and one of the programs was a mystery called,The Shadow". The opening line says, who knows what evil lurks in the heart of man? This line is illustrated when a person has a strong feeling about a given subject and then finds themselves in the position of having to deal with that subject. Some people who said they would never have an abortion changed their minds when push came to shove. Others who had an abortion ended up regretting it. Many people who considered alcoholism a moral weakness saw it as an illness when a person close to them fell prey to the disease. Some who were opposed to homosexuality changed their minds when a child came out. Some who object when people change their minds on a subject call it situational ethics. When these areas come up it might be wise to think things through and walk in the others persons shoes before coming to a conclusion. John Rohn was a motivational speaker who died about 10 years ago and he said: Things that I felt absolutely sure of but a few years ago, I do not believe now. This thought makes me see more clearly how foolish it would be to expect all men to agree with me