What do you do when the moral code of the society you live in does not match your own moral code? Emmeline Pankhurst spoke out. She was jailed many times for protesting the fact that she was not allowed to vote on the moral codes of her society.
How far are you willing to go? Would you break one moral code in order to establish another? What are your priorities when you find that the code of your society needs to be revised? Write about your code for dealing with the revising of moral codes. What is acceptable behavior? What is brave, and what is arrogant or dangerous? How can you honor your moral code but also have the ability to revise it if it can be improved upon?
This exercise is asking you to go down a very philosophical road, but it’s worth it. It can be extremely difficult to look at long-held beliefs under a microscope and consider altering them. Change is difficult. Changing a code that has long been part of your life is harder still.
DAY
213
“Property is not the sacred right. When a rich man becomes poor it is a misfortune, it is not a moral evil. When a poor man becomes destitute, it is a moral evil, teeming with consequences and injurious to society and morality.”
— Lord Acton
What is your moral responsibility in this world? Do you have any responsibility to reach out and contribute to the society you live in, or is it your duty simply to be a good individual and not cause any harm to anyone else?
Lord Acton brings up an interesting contrast in the quote above. It is not really a moral dilemma if a rich man becomes poor. It is unfortunate, but it is not a moral evil. This man is not completely in dire straits. He still has something to work with. He may have the capacity and good luck to build his fortune once again.
On the other hand, if a poor man becomes destitute—meaning he may die as a result of his lack of basic necessities like food, clothing, or a roof over his head—then it is the moral obligation of the society in which he lives to lend a hand.
Some people believe this to be true, and some do not. Where do you fall on the spectrum? Do you have an every-man-for-himself moral code? Or do you feel that it is the obligation of society and you individually to help those in need?
Consider the actions you take today that reflect your moral code. Do you help those in need? Do you donate to any causes? Do you spend time volunteering? What are the ways that you contribute in a positive way to your society? How much do you take from your society, and how much to you give back to it? Draw a picture that reflects your answers.
DAY
214
“Moral codes adjust themselves to environmental conditions.”
— Will Durant
Every society is different, and it evolves when the environmental conditions change. Therefore, moral codes tend also to adjust themselves to be responsive to changing conditions in society. That can be a good thing or a bad thing.
If greed becomes increasingly important in a society because economic times are good and many people are prosperous, there may be a loosening of the business code of ethics. That in turn can result in an increase in fraud, theft, or simple dishonesty within the group. A society can just as easily make a negative adjustment to environmental conditions as a positive one.
Let’s look at a different scenario. Famine is an issue in parts of the world, and other countries where food is plentiful respond to that famine by sending food to those who need it. That is an example of a positive adjustment to a moral code. There was no need to share their food before the development of this environmental condition, but when the famine occurred, they adjusted their moral code to environmental conditions and chose to lend a hand.
What are the environmental conditions that surround you now? Take a few hours and look through at least three popular newspapers in your country. What are the top stories? How do those stories relate to you? Do you see the moral codes in your society adjusting in reaction to the environmental conditions? What part do you play in that? Are you proud of your moral code in relation to the present environmental conditions?
DAY
215
“Change before you have to.”
— Jack Welch
Rob was the last person on the block to get a computer; he held out and didn’t buy a cell phone until his boss forced him to do so; and Rob is still trying to find a way around the move to HDTV. He resists change, and that resistance wastes a lot of time in his life. If Rob added up all the hours he spent refusing to change and evolve with society, he would be mortified to see the days and years that have been shaved off of his life.
Are you like Rob? Do you resist change? If you want to achieve success, you need to always be on the front end of change. That means you should constantly be asking yourself questions to check in with where you stand in relation to the rest of society. One of the best ways to do that is to have the courage to question your own moral code.
Go back and look at the moral code you wrote down on Day 211. Has anything changed in the last few days? Have you read anything or considered any new ideas that might cause you to want to edit your moral code?
Today you have an opportunity to go back and edit your code. Add anything you didn’t think of a few days ago and delete items that don’t seem as important now that you have had several days to consider them. Your moral code should be a constant work in progress. It is not set in stone. It will change as you grow and mature, and it will also adjust as a result of the changes in your environment. Be willing to always improve your moral code. Change before you have to.
DAY
216
“If I had influence with the good fairy who is supposed to preside over the christening of all children, I should ask that her gift to each child in the world be a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout life.”
— Rachel Carson
It certainly would be a wonderful gift if the good fairy could instill in each of us an indestructible sense of wonder. Then all of the doors that slammed shut as we became older and “wiser” would automatically reopen.
Do you remember what it was like to have a childlike sense of wonder? Think back to when you were a small child. What gave you a sense of wonder? Can you remember a specific memory of when you experienced something that was completely new? Draw up one of those memories and write about what it felt like to see, touch, hear, taste, or smell something for the very first time. Maybe it was the first time you rode a ferris wheel, or the very first time you held a garter snake in your backyard. Do you have a special memory of your experience the first time you tasted your grandma’s homemade pie or cookies? What did it feel like when you were introduced to a brand new family pet?
You can recapture a childlike sense of wonder by recalling these memories and remembering what it was like to experience the world for the very first time. When you were a child, the world was open to you. You had very few limitations, and you were eager to learn about how things work. Practice bringing that innocence back into your life, first by re-experiencing your childhood and drawing out the memories of a sense of wonder. Remember what that felt like, and imagine what it would be like to experience the world from that childlike perspective again.