We have lost a great deal in pandemic times and we have become a nation without morals. We are no longer a national group of likeminded people with a vision of the future, we have become a mob or – more correctly – a large mob composed of smaller mobs. We do not have any particular set of values that clarify the distinction between right and wrong. A system of shared beliefs that directs the creation of societal benefits is no more. We have lost our way.
This troubling state of affairs is the direct result of the violent death of truth.
If we agree with Ghandi who said, “morality is the basis of things and truth is the substance of all morality” it is clear that we are unmoored … we are at sea. Smart folks have defined three types of morality and each is in very bad repair. Moral absolutism is the view that actions are by their very nature right or wrong. For example, murder is an act that any civilized society would consider wrong. We place a serial killer in prison yet a person wearing a uniform in a war receives promotion and decorations. This leads us directly to moral relativism which states that moral judgments differ from culture to culture…or they differ in different situations. Moral universalism follows logically…this is the position that all similarly situated individuals are subject to strictures particular to their context. Universalism gives us the Geneva Convention, the Hippocratic oath and a host of other standards that exist in particular contexts. In each case, moral systems are built on a structure of shared truths.
Now that truth is dead for some, it seems that anything goes. Our best word for that state of being is anarchy. Since we are now in a place where alternative facts are readily available, the center cannot hold.
We must return to some form of shared vision.
Perhaps the pandemic and the increased violence of our times will provide us an opportunity to reassess our world. Perhaps we can edge toward an agreement upon what type of government we wish to have. Or, we can plumb the depths of empathy and how we will protect other lives. We can wear a mask and opt for democracy or disregard the health and well being of others as we race to oligarchy. These are yeasty times and so much is bubbling up.
We may be saved if we all embrace the idea of legacy. We can reject the monetary joy of power and wealth and opt for an other-centered world…a world that our children will live in. We can take a global view. We seem to have reached the point of no return and it is time for us to choose. What will be our purpose and how much moral wreckage will we tolerate?
I hope our truth will incorporate a common vision of a better world. I hope we embrace the insight of Immanuel Kant, “morality is not the doctrine of how we may make ourselves happy, but how we may make ourselves worthy of happiness.”
Thinking beyond today – beyond ourselves – is a moral imperative.
Olio Folio 