I’m stunned with the lack of character in today’s society. There was a time when men were taught what it meant to be a man. When lying was worse than cheating and a man’s word was his bond. When a woman was taught to respect herself and uphold her own dignity. When modesty and humiliation were more important than success and greed. These days are gone. It is time they return.
The Bar Has Been Lowered
For far too long we have based our actions and our decisions on the lowest common denominator. We do not see ourselves as bad people because we can always find someone else who is more evil. We justify our adultery because we’re not child molesters. We soothe our conscience when we engage in unsafe or emotionally unhealthy sex because we’ve seen grotesque things on the Internet. It is time for change.
The 60′s ushered in a counter-culture society that uprooted the outdated social law, but threw the basic human code of right vs. wrong out with the bath water in so doing. The 70′s mixed social norms with free will and birthed an empty and somber generation that still has no identity, Gen X. The 80′s spawned the ME Generation that turned into helicopter parents who shield their children from the responsibility of their actions. And so time marches on.
Moral and Ethical code is deeper than our flesh. We should not base our decisions on our desires. Rather, we should base them on what is right vs. what is wrong. We, as human beings, need to be more responsible to our fellow human beings. It is time we look at ourselves from the outside in. Would you like you? Would you want to be friends with you?
It is time for each of us to instill within ourselves a basic belief system. We are all vast and different, and that is a beautiful and wonderful thing. Yet, as humans, we should all build our unique differences on the same foundation principles.
Do not fear humiliation, fear the lack of Humility.
The Beginnings of a New Code…
- Know right from wrong and choose to do right
- Treat yourself and others with respect and dignity
- Be honest
- Be responsible
- Live your life serving a greater good
1) We all know right from wrong. We have become masters of arguing the point in order to get what we want. Do not go after what you want, listen to your inner truth. What you know to be true should outweigh your desires.
2) You can not love others until you first love yourself. Be kind to yourself, do not beat yourself up. Then, look around you. Stop seeing people through lenses clouded with judgement and jealousy. See each person as the treasure that they are and treat them as such.
3) The foundation of Integrity is Honesty. Do not lie. It’s very simple. Communicate openly, without fear. There is no reason to lie when you are operating a life that is selfless.
4) Many people are not adults. They are grown up children. Live your life responsibly. Do not hide from bills, show up late or blame others. Walk upright, the way a human being was created to do.
5) Live your life serving a greater good. At the end of 70+ years, do you wish to die among the things you have gathered for yourself? I wish to die surrounded by people whose lives I’ve impacted. If I can make other lives better, then I have lived a successful life.
If we lived our lives this way, there would be no housing crisis. The banks would not have given money to those who couldn’t pay them back and the borrower would not have asked for it. There would be no need for government-backed healthcare because we would help our neighbors and the medical community would develop medication to help people first and turn a profit would be farther down on the priority list.
Let us start with us. Right now. Today. Live your life with a moral code.
