Ethics is something taught

Nobody is born knowing ethics.

And every culture has its own ethics. And as some cultures are historically more successful than others, so are the ethical ideas that these cultures historically use. There are many examples obvious to those who travel around the world for extended periods of time.

For example, most western cultures don’t appreciate duplicity, but many eastern cultures do. And I believe the world’s longest lasting empire to date was the Byzantine Empire (about a 1,000 years) which in my mind used a good blend of western and eastern ideas, like buy out your enemy if you can. I believe the world’s longest lasting western empire was Roman, which in my mind lasted about 600 years.

Most cultures do not tolerate outright lying for many reasons. One obvious example is finding and going to a doctor. While picking a doctor usually involves sales pitches (like an election), once one picks a doctor one usually wants the truth, tactfully of course, but the brutal truth (like running a country). Nobody in any culture that I know of wants to be lied to too about their health, their habits, etc. Now the patient can do what they want to with what they hear, again, in most cultures. Yes we humans do have a lot in common, too.

Now here in the USA, I hear many expressions, I think, that are really about ethics. Such expressions are like: nanny state, personal responsibility, risk taking, rewards, and more recently outright lying and credibility (as in trust and faith).

Now I also think most ethical ideas and principles are taught at home. But for sure they are taught. And some do better than others. And, again, some cultural ethics are better than others.

Now many, often called ideologues in the USA, seem to be seeking some kind of even keel for all. That’s fine for them, I guess. But for them to ask me to compromise my ethics to seek some even keel is the preverbal straw that broke the camel’s back.

Said another way, we humans are different, and to try impose one’s way and ideas and ethics on the others just is not normal, not human, not reasonable.

There are alternatives. Like establishing ways (rules) to have all humans work for our common good, while respecting our own cultures and ethics. Or how about letting the “market” which reflects human greed and love of family and ego, also influence the outcome. Now that is just two ideas.

The key point is that there are alternatives to having one group try impose themselves on all the others. What an historically wasted effort, though typically human throughout times.

So what’s the point of this post. Here in the USA, ethics needs to be reinforced. Be it the vote, be it shame, be it pure human greed, be it ego, be it family, but reinforce it anyway you can. After all, it has to be taught.

The way my mother and her mother taught to me comes to mind. The idea “that that is just not right” still comes to mind.

And here in the USA I trust ethics ideas and teaching will be at all levels, but mostly local, as in state, county, city, and school boards.

Now I don’t dwell in the past, but I also don’t ignore the past.

Some of our ancestors were also smart and did OK in their time and in my mind. Part of that idea is our culture’s ethics, both past and future.