I believe that all people are constitutionally good.. that their foundation is morally sound. but every now and then we face situations when we want something so badly that we ignore all the moral science lessons from school...all that our elders tell us about being righteous and being fair to everyone goes out the window.
Its not that they are bad or have no values.. its just that impulse and desire to get what they want takes over so strongly that one would go to any lengths to go get it. Any means necessary are taken. So does that move made on an impulse brand them as ethically unsound.. unvirtuous??
Who decides what we do as right or wrong? the society? our parents? or school moral science teacher? Our scriptures? or us.. our inner voice? I want to think thats its our inner voice.. but what influences our soul?..this inner voice .. i have been told that a large part of this influence comes from the way we have been brought up..our culture..our surroundings.I agree with what has been told to me so far because i have not heard a more convincing explanation yet. So if you really think about it, its a full circle.
But doesnt that make you wonder why so many people go astray..why the crime rates still continue to increase and why people still cheat and lie?
Generically speaking.. almost all of us are from the same culture..no matter what language we speak or which state we belong to. All parents hope to see their children grow up to be law abiding, ethical citizens of a country. Then where do things go wrong?
The Bible says that if you are righteous and virtuous, then you will go to heaven.. otherwise you will be sent to hell.. Other scriptures speak on similar lines. The Law says that if you abide by the rules, then you can lead a free life .. otherwise you will be sent to jail.. Since most of the population is broadly classified under two categories- The God fearing and the Atheists.. Whatever anyone may chose to be.. the above two statements should ideally deter them from doing anything sinful or illegal. Yet, there are exceptions, the ones who choose to defy all that is right and just, the antisocial elements of society. Where does their inner voice go? Why do they do what they do.. I refuse to believe that they were born bad apples..but how did they become rotten?
What if i do something that does not harm anybody materially, to achieve that which gives me happiness. Does it make me a bad person because for once i put myself before others? Because for once i put preference to my personal good before the common good.. for once i decided not to be a saint? Just because we are expected to be one at all times.. we put up a facade. It makes me feel like i'm cheating everyone more than ever because every cell in me wants something else and i'm doing something that is politically and ethically correct because i'm expected to do so.
So bottom line is.. When i do the right thing, i'm cheating everyone because i'm putting up a facade thereby making me feel guilty. And when i do what my heart desires, everyone else thinks im a cheat thereby making me feel guilty all over again.
The difference in guilt, as i see it, in the two cases is that in the first case, im not being honest with myself or anyone else. In the second case i am being honest about what i really want with myself and with everyone else. End result is the same. Free will has just died.. under moral obligations.
As i understand it, you can never do anything as you please to because at some point or other your decisions affect and influence others. And if there is the slightest possibility that it may cause heartache or loss or even a sneeze.. you have to rollback everything that you planned. Becuase you are a good person.. because you have ethics.. because you cannot break their heart.. But what about "your" heart?
