Vypracoval: Boris Vavrík
Let’s try to find some fundamentals that might describe or define man and his society. I believe that morality and emotions are the basic aspects. We have feelings and we also differ right from wrong... But do we really?
September 11, war over Iraq, floods in Central Europe and Russia, drought and starvation in southern Africa, the break-up of Antarctic ice sheets, the collapse of fish stocks in the oceans, massive pollution as SE Asian rainforest burns, AIDS, BSE, the threat of nuclear war in the Indian sub-continent, the possibility of economic melt-down: the horror headlines bombard us practically every day and from every conceivable angle. This is as much part of our society as any other aspects and most importantly, it’s happening now and future might be much worse. And so it is our current prevailing course of values, due to which we might not last. Is there a chance for us and for the right principles?
How can we promote and safeguard the preservation of human life and dignity? I think that we have to take a closer look at the fundamentals of the human society.
Society or human society is the set of relations among people, including their social status and roles. By extension, society denotes the people of a region or country, sometimes even the world, taken as a whole. Webster's online dictionary defines civilization as "a society in an advanced state of social development". Without the restraints of society, the behaviour of people will regress to their savage beginnings, due to the fact that one's need for survival will overpower all other impulses. The descent into savagery, man's inherent desire to survive over anything else, and the need for civilization and order shows how society unnaturally holds everyone together. Society artificially bonds everything together by imposing rules and structures and without the reminders of civilization and its conventions the savagery of our nature emerges. The strength of a society can be linked to its dependence on its physical and social characteristics so that when members of a society are separated from those characteristics they are in jeopardy of a regression away from civilized behaviour.
One common theme for societies in general is that a lone person has rather limited means at their disposal, and societies serve to aid individuals in times of crisis. Traditionally, when an individual requires aid, for example at birth, death, sickness, or disaster, members of that society will rally others to render aid, in some form—symbolic, linguistic, physical, mental, emotional, financial, medical, or religious.
During the amazing progression of human society in technology and science a new question has arisen. Are we morally on the sufficient level in order to actually manage?
Morality is neither abstract nor complex. There cannot be different sets of morality for politicians, business persons and bureaucrats. If such a difference is being accepted by most of us today, it is because we have been indifferent to the deterioration of moral and ethical standards in the social order over the last half century. Any moral code has to be applicable to all. That politics, religion and morality are not compatible is a canard propagated deliberately by a few who have come to dominate public life. Through their dubious ways, they are twisting and redefining morality. Just as bad money drives out good money, bad people have very nearly cleared the power arena of good ones committed to moral or ideological principles and values. As a result, the entire social system and the environment is vitiated - resulting in widespread corruption and unethical behaviour.
What is morally wrong, cannot be right in politics, business or religion. It is only human of moral conviction and courage that can carry our society forward. Morality is a practical philosophy of life mirrored in a person's everyday behaviour and social interaction. Basic values are eternal - truthfulness, integrity of character and propriety in thought and action. It simply means being cultured, gentle, unselfish, noble and liberal in dealing with others. Being moral is being a man of conscience.
Nowadays our society is strongly affected by phenomenon called globalisation. It’s nice to be united, to have opportunities to communicate and trade with whole world. It’s another thing though, when twenty corporations own 90% of business and their only interest is in making profit. Shareholders force them to earn as much as possible and no one is interested how they do it. Countries are used only as a tool for safety and order. And people? This lead to one huge homogeneity and we can even see the side effects now – credit crisis in USA means crisis everywhere. Diversity in business is very important. It means that in case of crisis in some areas – the other shall survive. However if there is only one area, one crisis can destroy all industry and affects whole world. The more homogenised world is, the more vulnerable it is.
We are all acutely conscious of our right to freedom. However, we have not evolved a corresponding awareness about the value of restraint and self-control. A freedom that is limitless has no meaning - there can be no right without a corresponding duty. Also, a distinction needs to be made between freedom and licence. To have a conscience is to have the ability to understand this distinction.
Family, school and the prevailing environment play a crucial role in moulding and shaping an individual's character and conscience. What we learn in our younger days becomes a permanent part of us. Children instinctively know the right from the wrong. So adults need to set an example that validates this natural instinct.
We also need to promote a relationship of understanding, dignity and mutual respect between all people, governments and all other forms of life.
We love, but we also hate. We feel happiness, but we also feel fear. Trough our emotions we are capable to do amazing things, but also commit unspeakable atrocities.
Should we leave all this to experts or should we recognise that every man should make a contribution to the human society? I believe that we have to start from ourselves and now. I’d like to start with the man in the mirror. I also believe that we have to minimise damage we do everyday and maximise our contribution. We have to care, not only of us or our families, but also of our planet and consider the planet as our home. Only then we stand a chance for survival.