This rant is inspired by a movie called The Purge.
We should all know what morality is, but in case you don't know, morality is a set of values that people or society views as right or wrong. For example, helping others treat people the way you want to be treated and showing mercy to those who wronged you is considered the right thing to do. killing, stealing, lying, cheating, invading someone's personal space, and provoking people are considered wrong. This may sound simple, but it's not; everyone doesn't view morality like porn, as far as you know, it's wrong when you see it.
Part of the reason is because of our ethics. Ethics are your own personal views of what's right or wrong. For example, if I'm not doing anything that harms anyone, I don't consider it wrong. (Well, that depends on the situation.) Because of that, it conflicts with what the group thinks is acceptable or not. For example, if being biased is a bad thing, then why do we enable it? I mean, we're all biased when it comes to who we want to hire, hang out with, date, or marry. Segregation is not a bad thing either because there are people we need to separate ourselves from, like street dudes and Veterans. The reason I say that is because street dudes operate in a way that goes against having a civilised society. Veterans still see themselves as soldiers, which makes it hard for them to adjust to civilian life; the same thing goes for former inmates.
No disrespect to the late MLK Jr., I find his non-violent movement to be disingenuous. I say that because men have a mobster mentality about certain things, like our livelihood, houses, and family. If you mess with any of these things, that tells me you're ready to die. Side note, this is one of the many reasons why kids and people in general rebel because they didn't sign up for whatever rules that parents and society gave them. Some people think having an open marriage should be allowed because it could help save the marriage. Don't take my word for it; there are talk shows about this topic.
Here's an example of what I'm talking about.
This makes me sick because there's nothing wrong with the foundation of marriage; however, saving yourselves for one person can be problematic, but I digress. If you don't think you can be faithful to one person, then don't get married. Having an open marriage is not going to make the marriage last longer; all it does is create jealousy. Another reason why this subject is complicated is the law. We tend to conflate morality with the law, but they are not the same. Just because something is legal or illegal doesn't always make it right or wrong.
For example, is it wrong to have sex? If the answer is no, then why is it illegal to pick up a prostitute? Is it wrong to make money? If the answer is no, then why is it illegal to sell drugs? Do you think it's ridiculous to go to jail for cheating? Since we're on the subject, I don't see cheating as clear-cut. Yes! It's wrong; however, it's not always black and white. Keep in mind, cheating is not about sex; it's about doing something you won't do in front of your spouse. Cheating is something that happens once in a while an affair is ongoing. Cheating is not always the case of feeling neglected or doing it out of spite; all it takes is the right person at the wrong time, and boom! That's what happened to Miles in the movie Soul Food, Cousin Faith was the right woman at the wrong time.
People need to stop being naive to think that it won't happen to them, especially if they're married to a high-profile person. Heck, find me a married couple in L.A., Miami, or Florida that has been married for a long time. I hit on married women to see how they would react, and most of them were flattered. You don't stop finding other people attractive just because you're spoken for. Someone can catch you at a weak point, just like aggravated assault; someone has to do something at the wrong place at the wrong time for that to happen. For example, when someone badmouths a deceased loved one, you want to hurt that person. You also have to consider the Coolidge effect.
You can argue that morality comes from slavery. Think about it, you learn humility, patience, respect, and common courtesy from a position of servitude, not power. We wouldn't have the saying power corrupts absolute or the stereotype of kids growing up privileged, spoiled, entitled, etc. Yes! Parents can take away their privileges, but it doesn't change the fact that they're from a wealthy family. Look, I'm not trying to trivialise slavery or make it seem like it wasn't as bad as it was; however, we can't have it both ways. I mean, we can't talk about how bad slavery is and then have principles based on that ordeal.
One of the many issues I have with morality is that I can't think of a place where it's needed. I mean, it's not valued in school or college because they don't care about that; they care about your ability to remember, I mean, compete, I mean, learn. The same thing goes in the workplace; your boss cares about your ability to do your job. It's not needed in court because the people in court don't care about whether or not you're a good person; they care about how much money you make. I mean, what did you do that caused you to get arrested? I'm not saying it doesn't matter in these institutions; however, it's secondary.
Morality is certainly not valued in relationships; we wouldn't have single mothers if that wasn't the case. Beyond winning the Humanitarian award, what incentive do we have to uphold these values? If being an upstanding citizen won't give you the benefit of the doubt from the public, thinking you committed a crime or a lighter sentence, why bother? Did people forget the saying No good deed goes unpunished? Morality can also cloud your judgment. Here’s an example.
Me: Why should I feel sorry for you?A boy: Someone stole my PS3.Me: It’s your fault that it got stolen. What were you thinking, bringing your PS3 to school?The boy: It was the day before spring break.Me: So what? You shouldn’t have brought it to school because it wasn't the time or the place for it. School is a place to learn, not a place to hang out with your friends. The teachers shouldn’t keep track of your things. Do you think whoever stole your PS3 cares about being in the wrong or you being upset that person got what he or she wanted. You should have thought about someone wanting to steal your PS3 before you brought it to school. Do you see what I mean? Morality conflicts with responsibility; it shifts the blame to someone else. Just because no one has the right to steal my car, that doesn't mean I should leave the car door open with the keys in the ignition. Then expect people to feel sorry for you when someone steals your car because you brought that on yourself. You can't always count on people to do the right thing. If you want to be independent, this is what it looks like. My point is that at the end of the day, you're responsible for your well-being, belonging, and family members. This is why Black people shouldn't be upset with White people for putting themselves first at the expense of denying us opportunities. If you're not going to put a stranger above your family, then why should we expect them to put our race before themselves?
Morality doesn't reinforce that we can be rational people, how can we when what we consider right or wrong is based on emotions? How often do people respond calmly and collectively when they learn that someone robbed them, killed a friend or family member, and rape their wife, mother, sister, or daughter? Another problem with morality is that people have double standards about what is or isn't wrong. For example, you're OK with a pedophile being executed in cold blood but not friends or family members for breaking the law. If you're not OK with killing pedophiles in cold blood, then why keep them around if you don't want anything to do with them? You don't think spending the rest of your life in prison is cruel? Can someone explain to me why wishing that someone would die is a bad thing? (I haven't done that or used to do it because I gain nothing from it.) I mean, if death is not the worst thing in the world, then what's the problem? What does a dead person have to deal with? Criminals don't care about the consequences; they wouldn't be breaking the law if that wasn't the case.
If you lived on your own on an island, would you still uphold society's morals? I'm having a hard time believing that karma is real because bad things happen regardless of how you treat others. Even if it is real, how can you tell if someone is dealing with it? I mean, if you can't tell the difference between someone dealing with karma or the ugly side of life, then you have no right to say that's what karma looks like.
If you don't like people stealing from you, what are you doing to fix poverty? Instead of doing that, you tell them to work past poverty; that's not a simple task; if it was, that wouldn't be a starting point. Like the Joker said in The Dark Knight, we're only as good as the world allows us to be. Don't believe me, let me ask you this. Would you still be a righteous person if there were no consequences for breaking the law? It's easy to come off that way when your conviction is not being tested and you think you can get away with murder.
Basically, Morality is another set of rules that separates us from animals because there's no morality in nature. Lions don't hunt and eat Zebras because they're heartless; it's because it's a survival instinct. We would look foolish to call them evil because of that. Morality also helps us to function in a community; however, that will mean nothing if we isolate each other. How can you expect people to not do the bad things I mentioned if they don't feel like they're a part of the group? Another way we can alienate each other is by having two separate rules for the middle class and the elites.
Look at lying, for example, it's wrong, but it shouldn't be illegal, with the exception of lying on documents and bait and switch. We don't encourage people to be honest; there's more to it than giving false information. I know why you shouldn't lie to authority figures, but it's a double-edged sword for everyone, just like honesty. They can't look me in the eyes and tell me that they didn't make mistakes by lying. If it's not OK for the middle class to kill someone who assaults their child, then why is it OK for the elites to operate with impunity? How does having a might makes right mentality help boost morale? Having this mindset not only tells me that you're spoiled, but you also don't value discipline. If that's the case, then the upper class should separate itself from the middle class because you can't expect the middle class to co-exist with you by giving them rules that will make them look like punks. For example, if you think that the middle class is happy that they have to wait 24 or 72 hours to file a missing person report, you're an idiot.
Look at the religious community as another example, if everything that's right or wrong is based on religious books, then why don't they follow GOD's example? There are some messed-up things in the Bible, like GOD letting two villages get destroyed, sacrificing his son to be murdered, and if you rape a woman, you pay the father in silver and marry her without divorcing her. If these things are frowned upon and it's not OK for GOD to do it, then why do you worship someone who allows this to happen? Speaking of the Bible, it's an overrated book for two reasons. First of all, what can it tell you that you couldn't figure out as you get older? Second, some scriptures are so vague that anyone can misinterpret them.
I have three issues with the love of money is the root of all evil scripture. First of all, money has no morality. Second, by that logic, we shouldn't make a big deal about rape, murder and destruction out of revenge because there's no money in those things. Third, you don't have to love money to do bad things because of it. What about greed? Finally, money isn't the only currency; what about gold, silver, oil and Diamonds? What about inmates, they do bad things to each other, and there's no money involved.
Let's talk about the Purge. This movie was about the US Government having an idea of how to lower crime and unemployment rates, and that idea is the Purge. The purge is a twelve-hour period where crime is legal, you can do whatever you want except for threatening the Government and have accuse to class 4 weapons. Also, you can’t get any help from law enforcement and emergency services.
This idea is stupid because this can backfire. (OK, it's not that stupid because this gives people an outlet to embrace their dark side. I didn't say it was the best option to do that.) Let’s say that I work as a security guard at a bank when the Purge happens I rob the bank, the next day the owner wants to fire me or have me arrested but can’t because what I did was legal, then next year he decides to get his revenge on me when the next the Purge happens, see the Purge is making things worst.
Despite my issues with this idea, the premise sounds interesting. The writers can make a good movie out of this premise, I mean, this movie could have been a survival movie about the people showing the Government that we strive to do better. Sadly, that didn’t happen. This movie is basically a generic slasher film. I’m tired of seeing potential go to waste, and that’s what this movie was. I wish this was done in prison, I mean, have the Government release the inmates from their Cells and see if they stay in their Cells. That would tell if they are rehabilitated or not.
This movie scared me because I can’t say that our government wouldn’t or already have pulled a stunt like this. In order for a community to thrive, we can't have any dead weight, and the purge is a way to get rid of the extra weight. Also, this has been going on for centuries; look at the awful things we have done to each other throughout history, like slavery, sex trafficking and killings. To quote the comedian from Watchman, “Mankind has been trying to kill each other off for a while; now we have the firepower to finish the job.”
This is why I don't care who's running for office or in a position of power, because both parties do questionable things for what they believe to be the greater good, whatever that means. Also, choosing the lesser of two evils is one step forward and two steps back. Another thing, if I have to vote for someone to do right by the public, that's the problem. Criminals strong-arm you to help them by threatening you or your loved ones; the justice system strong-arms you to cooperate with them by sending you to prison. Who has the moral high ground here? How is the Justice system better than the Criminals if they both do the same thing?
If morality is not black and white, where does the line draw? Why does the middleman get punished for killing someone who broke into his house, but people in power don't? If you have special privileges, the punishment should be severe for that reason alone. I can understand why people in power won't reveal the shady things they have done to keep us safe; however, it doesn't build trust. The public has to take some responsibility for this as well because we have been going back and forth about freedom vs security. Do you know how much of your freedom are you willing to give up for security?
My point is this, we should see morality as a way to help improve the community, not use it to grandstand, shame or manipulate each other. This is something that needs to be reformed every few years, and we shouldn't disregard people who are not on board with what the current dos and don'ts are. If 12 people can decide if someone is guilty or innocent of a crime, why can't we do this? What's the point of colleges having ethics classes? This is something we should talk about more than once because things change over time, society is not the same as it was in the 1950s. Religion use to be the foundation of morality, now it's our culture. If you don't think the ends justify the means and the Government should answer for any wrongdoing, then that can be part of the discussion.
That's all I have to say about the subject for now. What do you think?
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