My #1 Moral Issue

[sirrealistic]

It seems to me that morality has been dumbed down to a few political issues in recent years while, in the meantime, the most important part of it has been lost: It's all about how you treat other people

Comments

[screendoor3]

Somehow the idea is being spread that it's okay to treat other people rudely if you think they're stupid or if they say something you disagree with or if you can in some way judge that they're lower than you.

That's my biggest peeve, and as you mention it's everywhere in our culture. It needs to stop.

There are also cases where more than one view on a matter are correct. The people on polar ends cry out bloody murder because they don't understand where the other person is coming from.

It needs to stop, we need to start showing respect, and we need to do it now.

[sirrealistic]

There are also cases where more than one view on a matter are correct. The people on polar ends cry out bloody murder because they don't understand where the other person is coming from.

Exactly! It is often the case where both sides raise legitimate points and society must negotiate between them to find some type of imperfect solution in the middle. That's just going to be a fact of life in a democracy. Nobody's going to get everything they want.

[axver]

I agree completely. I've noticed an alarming tendency for people to assert the moral high ground in an issue and then claim that their immoral behaviour towards those who disagree is actually in love. I have read on multiple occasions people who say, in all serious and convinced of their own highly moral status, that telling homosexuals that they are going to "burn for all eternity" is a loving act.

I would also say that being confident of your own morality is immoral in and of itself, as it is egotistical and arrogant.

It seems, though, that society gets a perverse kind of pleasure out of watching this kind of behaviour. Why else would certain TV shows and sensational/tabloid media outlets do so well?

[sirrealistic]

Yes, I agree - there is something wrong with feeling too confident of the rightness of one's own views. Unfortunately, I think a lot of people are only listening to people who think like them. It can be stressful to listen to disagreeing viewpoints. Which may be the reason why that type of show is so popular. Seeing the other side mocked is very comforting and makes them feel superior to others.

[axver]

'It can be stressful to listen to disagreeing viewpoints.'

Beyond stressful. There's a reason why I no longer participate in much political/religious discussion on forums outside of LiveJournal. I'm comfortable here because people (at least those I've surrounded myself with) can communicate with decency, clarity, and courtesy. Elsewhere, debates were brutal and vicious, especially on religious matters. Would you believe that on one orthodox Christian forum, I was widely condemned as a heretic for adhering to the doctrine of amillennialism despite the fact that until the last hundred years, it has been the dominant doctrine in the church relating to the study of the course of human history and the Apocalypse?

'Unfortunately, I think a lot of people are only listening to people who think like them.'People like to be patted on the back and told they're right. They also like to hear about how "stupid" and "uninformed" the other side is. I think people from all corners of the political spectrum are guilty of this

[sirrealistic]

There's a reason why I no longer participate in much political/religious discussion on forums outside of LiveJournal.

I can't tell you how many times I've heard this from other people and is the true for me as well. It's sad really. Political/religious discussions shouldn't be left only for the shouters and the screamers.

People like to be patted on the back and told they're right. They also like to hear about how "stupid" and "uninformed" the other side is. I think people from all corners of the political spectrum are guilty of this.

I think there is a place for this. It's okay to discuss things with like-minded people where you don't continually defend yourself or be re-explaining your assumptions. But it shouldn't be the only opinions one listens to. And don't assume people are stupid or uniformed just because they disagree with you.

No-one wants to hear that what they are doing is wrong or that something they believe to be wrong is right (regardless of the reality).

Very true. Nobody does, even ourselves. You're rarely going

[stolidlimeberry]

I don't know where people like you hide, but you really need to come out and grace us lesser mortals with your presence more often.

[sirrealistic]

Hey, that's the exact same comment I'd write to you!

[stolidlimeberry]

Nuh uh!! You rock exponentially more than I do!