Right or wrong?
Right or wrong? That is the question! Perhaps it is because of the communication systems of the modern world that we learn about so much that has gone wrong. But, could it be that human beings have become more prone to giving into actions that are wrong, that are not in the best interests of society, that what is done is in the interests of the individual and not of others?
So many crimes against society are done for the personal gain of an individual or that of a group. Some crimes are called hate crimes for they come out of the antagonism or racism that exists and that has grown or festered over time and have become part of the heritage of groups or even nations. We have seen so many wars and the resulting human carnage and destruction of property, and sometimes the devastation of the economies of countries. Human suffering has been part of all wars, often to continue many years after the end of hostilities.
We in Anglo-North America have not seen warfare on our land mass in well over one hundred years. That is not to say that we have not suffered both humanly and economically from wars fought on foreign soil. The Great War, “the war to end all wars”, better know today as the First World War has been thought of as the “birth of the Canadian nation.” So many lives were lost, so many veterans returned crippled in body and more often in mind, but not necessarily in spirit. They were a hardy, even a “tough” lot!
Some how or other, I, who lived through the Great Depression of the thirties and the Second World War and all those subsequent, can say that there was a goodness and honesty among those “old timers.” What did they possess that we do not? Were there a sense of morals and a sense of respect for others and the property of others built into family and community life? Did the school systems contribute to a more respectful and honourable way of life? Were the many churches of the day contributors to an ethical code of general conduct that is not in evidence today? Were people more God fearing and did the fear of hell fire fill the minds of many who were guided by the Ten Commandments, by Books of Scripture, by the words of holy men and by religious teachings?
If we have gone “wrong” where, why and how did that take place?
We can’t listen to the news on the radio or see the news on television or read the newspapers without glaring items of crime, including murders, rapes, robberies, frauds and the charges against many for their anti-social behaviours being reported on and commented upon.
How can our societies of today bring about the changes necessary for people to not only distinguish right from wrong but to act in moral and proper ways? Do our children learn so much through our systems of communication that perhaps tighter controls may be necessary? Has our “democratic” way and style of living lead us down a path of comfort and then inducing a mind set of less resistance to that which is not good?
Where are our leaders who might inspire us by their words and good example to recognize what is wrong and help us to do what is right?
So many crimes against society are done for the personal gain of an individual or that of a group. Some crimes are called hate crimes for they come out of the antagonism or racism that exists and that has grown or festered over time and have become part of the heritage of groups or even nations. We have seen so many wars and the resulting human carnage and destruction of property, and sometimes the devastation of the economies of countries. Human suffering has been part of all wars, often to continue many years after the end of hostilities.
We in Anglo-North America have not seen warfare on our land mass in well over one hundred years. That is not to say that we have not suffered both humanly and economically from wars fought on foreign soil. The Great War, “the war to end all wars”, better know today as the First World War has been thought of as the “birth of the Canadian nation.” So many lives were lost, so many veterans returned crippled in body and more often in mind, but not necessarily in spirit. They were a hardy, even a “tough” lot!
Some how or other, I, who lived through the Great Depression of the thirties and the Second World War and all those subsequent, can say that there was a goodness and honesty among those “old timers.” What did they possess that we do not? Were there a sense of morals and a sense of respect for others and the property of others built into family and community life? Did the school systems contribute to a more respectful and honourable way of life? Were the many churches of the day contributors to an ethical code of general conduct that is not in evidence today? Were people more God fearing and did the fear of hell fire fill the minds of many who were guided by the Ten Commandments, by Books of Scripture, by the words of holy men and by religious teachings?
If we have gone “wrong” where, why and how did that take place?
We can’t listen to the news on the radio or see the news on television or read the newspapers without glaring items of crime, including murders, rapes, robberies, frauds and the charges against many for their anti-social behaviours being reported on and commented upon.
How can our societies of today bring about the changes necessary for people to not only distinguish right from wrong but to act in moral and proper ways? Do our children learn so much through our systems of communication that perhaps tighter controls may be necessary? Has our “democratic” way and style of living lead us down a path of comfort and then inducing a mind set of less resistance to that which is not good?
Where are our leaders who might inspire us by their words and good example to recognize what is wrong and help us to do what is right?
posted by croweagle at
11:09 PM
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