The "Truth" About Morality, OR Would I Lie to You?

            Before answering questions about moral behavior I believe it’s important to define what we consider moral in order to provide context for the answer. In my mind, for this exercise let’s say moral behavior is behavior that causes no harm to self or others, outside of that of microaggressions. The reason I am defining moral behavior this way is due to the fact that in general most people take part in mildly immoral behavior everyday. This may be simply to receive a desired effect from another person or to spare another’s feelings (Ley, 2017). Essentially, most of the immoral deception we engage in has its roots in some misguided altruism. As one might expect, this low-level type of immoral behavior is inconsequential, even if dishonest.  

            I absolutely think that most people (myself included) believe that they behave morally “most” of the time. To add to this point, Ley also notes that most liars truly do believe the lie as they tell it, or at least wish it were true (2017).  There is a famous quote that has been attributed to many, but it is something to the effect of “We all believe ourselves to be heroes of our own stories.” This is due to our typically egoistic nature, as we view the world, and our actions through our own lens, and it is difficult for many to step outside of this. Summarily, most of us can find a reason to justify even the poorest of moral behavior. Hence, the lack of empathy we see in many corners of our modern world. When viewed through this stripped down real-world perception; there are no heroes or villains, just those with different agendas[1].   

           I believe most people decide what is morally just based on their own internal rationalization. As alluded to earlier, it becomes easy for us to justify action (or inaction) based on our feelings and interpretations of what is going on around us or happening to us. This personal opinion is also shored up by Tsang who concludes immoral behaviors are decided upon through multifaceted cognitive processes as well as environmental or situational pressures (2002).

          In conclusion, what is moral is different and even ever-changing for each of us through the course of our lives. What makes up your moral code?

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[1] Yes this is a quote from Daredevil, not academic in nature but still worthwhile for this discussion.

References

Ley, D. J. (2017, January 23). 6 Reasons People Lie When They Don’t Need To. Retrieved January 16, 2019, from Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/women-who-stray/201701/6-reasons-people-lie-when-they-don-t-need

Tsang, J.-A. (2002). Moral rationalization and the integration of situational factors and psychological processes in immoral behavior. Review of General Psychology, 6(1), 25–50. https://doi-org.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.1037/1089-2680.6.1.25

(I'm Not) Valedictorian

            Sadly, I was not chosen as valedictorian and even with a 4.0 GPA. No one tapped me on the shoulder to ask me to speak at my upcoming graduation.  And no, I am not here to complain about that at all. What I thought would be interesting though is to write a speech as though I were addressing a teeming mass of young adults on the cusp of turning those tassels

            So ya, no one asked me to do it but yet here it is anyway…

            Hello fellow Sun Devils. Hello class of 2018. HELLO TO THE FUTURE!

            (Hold for applause)

            Ya know two years ago I gave up a lot to go back to school. I gave up seniority, money (Oh so much money!) and comfort of the known.

            However, what I found was much greater. I found my purpose. I found meaning in my life, and what I believe to be the lives of so many others.

            What is that meaning you ask? Helping those that need it.

            For you see, I have come to realize that not every addict is hopeless, not every homeless person is on the streets because they chose to be, and not every person with money is happy. The strange part about it is, inherently, I already knew all of that, it was as though I just needed to prove it to myself.

            And the beautiful thing about this is that standing here today; all of you have helped me. Because you see, a great deal of my cynical world view was fueled by the notion that no one else cared, so why should I?

            What I have witnessed during my time at ASU (hold for applause) is a generation of individuals who desire a change for the better. This has given me- once the most cynical of cynics on the earth- hope.

            The strength and determination that all of you have shown, and have shown me, has been my fuel when I thought I had no more fuel in the tank. It has reminded me that the evening world news is not necessarily representative of the world itself. 

            We social workers are taught not to give advice, however I am going to break that maxim just slightly for this one occasion…

             As you go out into the world following today, as you serve the populations that you hold dear- whether they be the elderly, those without shelter, the differently-abled, those in recovery, distressed and oppressed peoples- or simply those that have encountered a rough portion of road in life, please do one thing:

            Think critically as an individual, but think for the greater good.  

            Thank you! We now return you to your regularly scheduled graduation ceremony!

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The Prayers You Didn't Know You Needed

It's been a rough week.  

First, Monday greeted me with some political-correct, snowflake, triggered horseshit at work. By Tuesday I found out that I was at least 1 course short of graduating with my Criminal Justice Minor. Finally, mid-week was capped off by some human splooge tossing a full Polar Pop 32oz beverage at me from his car window while I was running. 

Yes, it's true, I lead an exciting life. 

Luckily, in all these instances I have the certainty that I'll be okay. One of these scenarios I escaped completely unscathed as the Polar Pop cup missed me completely.   

While I am slightly worried about the issue with my Minor, I have confidence that it will be worked out one way or another.  

As far as the problem with work, miraculously I wasn’t a part of the issue referenced, so I appear to be "safe" from the administrative wrath. Of course, that being said, I plan to stand with my team in defiance of such ridiculousness.  

All this mess got me thinking: How many times have I been spared being the victim of some negative event?  

You might think this is overly deep thinking for a cynic such as myself. It may surprise you to know that I actually am fairly spiritual. I don't mean "spiritual" in the current vernacular of rubbing crystals, shopping at Whole Foods and refusing to wear deodorant (not that there's anything wrong with that).  

What I mean by spiritual is I pray to God, but I am far from religious. In fact, I think religion is the worst thing to happen to faith in the history of humankind.  

After that Circle K Polar Pop cup missed me, I prayed. I thanked God for that cup missing me as I thought about what might've been inside it, what the person that threw it might have been thinking.  

This then brought further self-reflection: How many times have I been spared being the victim of some negative event that I wasn’t even aware of?  

Was I almost the victim of a robbery but the would-be perpetrator lost their nerve? Was I nearly killed in a traffic accident but the driver that caused it returned home because they forget something?  

The possibilities are endless and they really make you think. They also make you pray a thankful prayer.  

Philosophical Mumbo Jumbo

Philosophy -

noun, phi·los·o·phy \fə-ˈlä-s(ə-)fē\

2 pursuit of wisdom :  a search for a general understanding of values and reality by chiefly speculative rather than observational means :  an analysis of the grounds of and concepts expressing fundamental beliefs (Merriam-Webster Inc, 2017)

Recently, I just finished a course that centered on Ethics and Morality and used a textbook penned by Lawrence Hinman; Contemporary Moral Issues: Diversity and Consensus. Initially, upon entering the class I thought, what a waste of time, as if either of these things are teachable concepts.

I assumed it would be one of those classes you shrug off, an “easy A” that would not take up much study time. Just answer the questions posed to you in the “expected” way and collect your credits. However, with each passing week I became more involved in the course discussions and found the subject matter more interesting. Stem cell harvesting and research, abortion, neoliberalism, the death penalty- all controversial issues that I thought I had understood, and further thought that I had thoroughly grounded beliefs within. Beliefs that lay firmly rooted on one side of these issues or the other. I quickly found out that my beliefs were not only superficial, but in some cases ethereal, having been incidentally gleaned from less-than reputable sources (skewed movies and books, acquaintances with agendas, slanted news reports etc.)

I found myself debating classmates and “winning” (as much as one can “win” in an online forum anyway). It became quite exhilarating, not to pick a side and defend it, but to really dig in and research the pros and cons and present an overarching view of a topic.

          

This spark led me to finally finish up a book i had been given months before on one of my favorite topics, Alan Moore’s Watchmen. I went back to reading Watchmen and Philosophy: A Rorschach Test by Mark D. White. I suppose I thought I had just laid or reinforced the fundamentals of critical thinking with regard to personal worldviews, it might be time to explore that in a different context. That context, being one of my favorite films and graphic novels.

The book was great, particularly due to its analytical treatment of Watchmen’s characters and the issues they face from a philosophical lens. The author did a wonderful job of bringing to light issues in the story that I always noticed as being paramount, but could never properly articulate with any true direction. The essays throughout focus on the topics that are central (and some not-so central) to Watchmen’s mythos; good and evil, heroism, villainy, righteousness, politics, and neatly weaves these into philosophical concepts such as stoicism, free will and moral value, among others.  If you are a pop culture fan, or especially a Watchmen fan who is at all interested in philosophy, I highly urge you to track down a copy.  

   

After finishing both Watchmen and Philosophy as well as, Contemporary Moral Issues, I assumed I was ready for something with more gristle. I picked up a translated copy from one of the master’s of philosophy; Nietzsche. I was excited, one because I had heard his work quoted in several different formats and media over the years, and two; I was a bit full of myself at feeling I was ready to tackle such an esteemed body of literary work. The book I selected was The Birth of Tragedy, which was coupled with The Case of Wagner. The particular edition I purchased also contained a preface written by Nietzsche titled ‘Attempt at a Self-Criticism' related to The Birth of Tragedy- an analysis of his own work, some years after the fact. I thought this might prove useful, and insightful as Birth was his first published book.   

I was eager to begin soaking up the relevant knowledge, the life-altering wisdom that someone so revered would surely be able to pass on from across time.

It took me almost 3 hours just to read through the translator’s introduction!

But I wasn’t stymied yet. I kept thinking perhaps if I can get past the translator’s stuffy, academic language from the mid 1950’s, I could get to the insightful information that I really desired, so I pressed on.  Unfortunately, once that was completed I only arrived at Nietzsche’s words to discover that they themselves were made up of stuffy, academic language from the mid 1700’s. I was both astounded and disappointed that it was taking me so long to digest the book’s content.  

So Nietzsche and I, once strangers were quickly estranged. As such, his book rests on the bottom of my reading table, gathering dust as I hope I may gather the acumen to read his words without the help of a tutor, language coach, caffeine and a concordance.

My philosophical exploration remains on hold. Until, at least, I can find something more palatable. Perhaps in between “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Philosophy” and “The Complete Intellectual’s Guide to Philosophy”. I suppose the moral of the story is that my hypothetical philosophical remains on hold, in more than just the hypothetical sense.

EDITOR’S NOTE: If you thought the above not representative of David’s typical writing (i.e. slow-paced, overly methodical, and painfully analytical, it is due to the fact that he was channeling Nietzsche himself.

Further, if you stumbled to this page expecting to see something representing light-hearted humor with more intermittent action scenes, stay tuned we will be back to our regularly scheduled programming next week (now that David has gotten this out of his system, we hope.)

Jesse & Reckless Abandon

September 1996 - Dayton, Ohio

“I drive with reckless abandon.”

I laughed out loud, the way people did before it was a meaningless abbreviation. “What the fuck does that mean?”

“That’s why I get laid ALL THE TIME.”

I looked at the guy in the driver’s seat. He was seventeen years old, had braces that looked like leftover chicken wire and acne spattered across his forehead. Again, I laughed. Not because I thought he was being funny, but because I knew he actually believed what he was saying.  

Jesse (artist rendering)

Me, I was a year younger, overweight, shy and sitting in the passenger seat and wondering why I hadn’t just walked to my destination.

You see Jesse was a special kind of nerd- the kind that didn’t even know he was a nerd. He had somehow convinced himself that he was cool and popular, even though he was arrogant, insulting, and rude.

As a fellow nerd, I didn’t even like him. If anyone had seen us together, I would’ve been quick to tell them that Jesse was most definitely NOT my friend.

But Jesse did have one thing; a 1986 Fiero with T-tops. It was what I liked to call “burnt shit brown”. It had been given its last oil change at a friend’s house with used oil from a lawn mower- that’s how cheap (and clueless) Jesse was. It was a hideous vehicle.

Unfortunately, I was between jobs so my vehicle (a beautiful sky blue 1986 Mercury Cougar, with only a few dozen cigarette burns on the interior) had been sitting in my parent’s driveway for about two months. My father had made it clear, without a job and the money to cover my own car insurance, that Cougar would rust back into the earth from whence it came.

So there was Jesse and I cruising through a residential street at about 55 miles per hour. He had offered to take me to a job interview, and I needed the ride. I didn’t think at the time that his reason for offering was so that he could try and verbally run me down while he avoided doing the same as he crazily sped through the backroads, passing every other car in sight.

“Man, slow down. You’re driving like an idiot,” there was no trace of politeness in my voice.

“Don’t tell me how to drive. I know what I’m doing,” he said, turning to me and taking his eyes completely off the road. “I bet you’re a virgin aren’t you.”

At first I was struck by the boldness of the comment, my initial reaction was to blush. Then I remembered who I was talking to. Had it been one of the actual “cool” kids from school, I would’ve lied, or made some self deprecating joke, whatever it took to save face. But, this was Jesse, and I didn’t give a shit what he thought about me, or knew about me.

“Ya I am, and so are you.”

“Wha-?” he tried to mount some sort of response, but I wasn’t having it.

“You are so full of shit Jesse. Just stop with the lies. I’m sick of it. The closest you’ve ever come to pussy was comin’ outta one.”

“You keep it up and I’m going to get my Beretta,” his words were clumsy, his voice thick.

“You don’t have a Beretta, Jesse. Because if you did, I imagine I’d have seen it some time last Saturday.” About a week before this a neighborhood teen had confronted me while waving a gun around in my face. Jesse had been there. At first anyway, he had not surprisingly disappeared before the ordeal was over.  

As I recalled this memory I became more angry, no longer willing to tolerate his inane manner.

"And slow the fuck down would ya?”

Jesse eased off of the accelerator.

I looked over at the now meek child that replaced the boisterous teen. Jesse’s face was red and eyes puffy, he was fighting a losing battle to hold back tears. It wasn’t surprising to me that he was welling up, I guess I was surprised that no one had called him out before. With only a few pointed words I had cracked, if not shattered whatever delusional barricade he had created for himself.

I wondered what made him act the way he did. I drew a blank.

The rest of that car ride was completed without a word. To his credit Jesse did in fact take me all the way to my interview. He very easily could’ve made me get out and walk for confronting his bullshit, but he didn’t.

When I exited his vehicle, I looked him in the eye. “I’ll find another way home.” I began to walk into my appointment.

For some reason, maybe it was my internal need for finality, perhaps some crueler spark within, but something made me turn back to him and say, “After today we don’t know one another.” the last thing I saw Jesse do was nod after he shifted that Fiero into gear.

It’s been twenty years since I’ve even thought about Jesse and that beat up Fiero. I’m not sure why he popped back into my brain this week.

I have no clue whatever happened to the guy, or where he ended up. I just hope he learned to come to terms with who he really was. My guess is that person was probably a pretty decent guy, shame I never met him.