Janie Andrich

It is hard to determine right from wrong in today’s world.  It seems that everyone has his or her own, and usually different, morality. i call it situational morality. I really struggle with the things I hear from people, young and old alike.   The ideas they have as to what is acceptable behavior are more and more being shaped by the music we listen to, our favorite movie stars, politicians, other government officials, shows on television and the actions of their peers at work or at school.  I am sometimes discouraged,  and feel it is a loosing battle to speak up for what is the “right thing to do” because it is often the hard thing to do.

Our children want to fit into our world.  It is comfortable to be socially acceptable.  Our public schools, newspapers, television reporters, and our political leaders proclaim the value of accepting all people regardless of their morality, regardless of how they treat others and regardless if they are truthful.  It amazes me that people can say anything they want to say and no one ever vets what they say for accuracy.   It is universally accepted that we should “do the right thing.”  But it is confusing to determine what “the right thing” is.

At times people seem to manufacture morality.  I think that the students in our schools hear the right things from us but also hear the various proclamations of what others view as right, and become confused.  Because there are so many options for morality, sometimes they make their own rules or concepts of right and wrong.   Our world shouts, “Don’t be so narrow minded” if we speak out against what we feel is wrong.

There is so much in our world that we must condemn, violence towards our fellow human beings, stealing, cheating, verbal and physical abuse, substance abuse, promiscuity, and a myriad of other behaviors that are becoming more socially acceptable depending on the situation. Still many of these beliefs are  never challenged, on television, in movies, but instead are glorified in music and in other places in our community.

As with Martin Luther, who spoke unpopular facts, is vital that in school classrooms, in our families, and with those we come into contact with, that we speak up for the beliefs that our nation were founded on.  We need to arm our children with the truth.  The only way we can do that is to work together, school, families, parents, and other  community members, to teach children what is right.  Children at times will question what is acceptable behavior because they are conditioned by the morality of our society to do so.   Not everything and everyone is good.  We must teach our children to avoid those things.   We must teach our children what is right and then we must model appropriate attitudes and behaviors in our everyday lives.