Thankfully
the issues surrounding Mental Health are coming to the forefront and are being increasingly spoken about, understood and accepted, despite the slow progress. Unfortunately, another area of our health is in serious decline and is being ignored or sidestepped by too many; the issues surrounding our moral health.
As much of the world reels in the aftermath of what has happened in the US, irrespective of your political standing or the reasons for it, there is no escaping the fact that the moral compass of those in power is far off course. It is disturbing that so many people were able to overlook such moral deficiencies and that perhaps points to the deficiencies of our own nature and the sad truth that so many have lost the most basics of human decency.
The stability of society is really based on a foundation that relies heavily on the actions of its citizens and their ability to choose between right and wrong. Most of us will have chosen wrong at various times in our lives, giving in to temptation and desire above righteousness. This is part of human nature and generally there is an acceptance that striving to behave justly will triumph most often to ensure that the compassion needed for the world to endure survives. This self-command is an attribute that many possess and manifests into people behaving justly, even when they could get away with acting unjustly.
There have always been those who choose wrong consistently, blatantly and unashamedly. The frightening thing is that the numbers of these types of people are increasing at an alarming rate and the moral fibre of our society is being mercilessly torn. The absence of self-command, if not part of a mental health deficiency, is an arrogant, egotistical trait that is destroying our nation. It negates responsibility to the harmony and wellbeing of society or the people within it.
Responsibility can be a rather abstract concept as it is something very individual in nature due to a private perception and acceptance. Our morality is just as difficult to standardise. While most people accept their responsibilities as parents, we know many others do not. Many of us accept our responsibilities as family members, while again, others do not. Perhaps the most apparent is the diminishing social responsibility we have for our fellow community and then further afield, for our fellow human being. Who chooses to hate someone they have never met and know nothing about? How can we justify ill treatment and systematic oppression in a bid to elevate ourselves? What part of our selves has been lost to create such callous and brutal opinions of others?
As with most things, perceptions about morals are leaned very early in childhood and are mostly influenced by parents and caregivers, then later, school teachers and general ethics of school policy. The emphasis on childhood interactions and role models cannot be stressed too strongly, as so many attributes of a person’s attitude to such things are formed in early childhood.
What we are exposing our children to regarding morals, responsibilities and care is not being effectively taught through lip service during moral education at school, no matter how well placed the sentiment is. It is not even being taught effectually within the religious fractions, despite the clear and compassionate messages that are intertwined in the faiths. It is being taught by the actions of the people within their surroundings. Ask yourself the questions. Am I only responsible for myself? For the children I bring into the world? For those with whom I share the same blood? For those who I am akin to with race? All people of my gender? Those in my part of the world? Where does my responsibility end?
Our morals are closely linked with what we believe are our responsibilities. The bar has been lowered on what many believe those responsibilities to be. But as long as there are still people in the world who are willing to treat fellow human beings with respect, care and compassion, the basis of human kindness will continue and will ensure that not everyone is willing to accept survival of the fittest means trampling over those in weaker positions. Not everyone is willing to disregard the moral standing that used to more often than not prevail. Not everyone is plagued by a lack of self-command. If the next generation continue to witness those who hold on to their self-command there is a chance they will follow suit.
