Are Morals Becoming Extinct?

Some blog topics seem to come around again ever so often. Does it mean I'm beating the proverbial drum? Gosh, I hope not. Nine times out of ten I base my blog posts on observations. Truth be told, whenever I'm seated in a room I prefer to face the door so I can be a people watcher. I find people, their reactions, and their mannerisms extremely interesting (and captivating).

 

Lately when I read Internet headlines, Facebook posts and comments, or observe someone in a store ranting loudly enough for everyone to hear their business I find myself jotting down a few words; just enough to get the creative juices flowing and my fingers typing.

 

So what's my rant (oops, I mean my 'blog topic') today? Are morals becoming extinct?

 

Morals and values are things we grew up with. Our ideals, for better or for worse, were molded by our parents, the neighbors, our teachers at school, maybe our pastor, and for sure our society. But I look around today and I wonder. What kind of job are 'we' doing; and by 'we' I don't just mean you and me, but also our society and the media. Many young people today seem to be easily swayed in one direction or another. They like to think they're expressing themselves and have life all figured out, but in reality they're just jumping on someone else's band wagon.

 

When I was a child and attended summer Vacation Bible School I learned about the Ten Commandments. As a young girl the one commandment that stood out to me then that I felt I could maybe apply to my own life referred to 'loving your neighbor' (Mark 12:31 The second is this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.').

 

I see some people today (and trust me, age does not discriminate) who seem to have forgotten their values. The easiest way to honor the commandment is to treat others the way you would hope to be treated.

 

Would you like to ...

• be disrespected?
• manipulated?
• be talked about behind your back?
• have friends and family that are not loyal?
• have people lie to you?
• be cheated on or out of something?

So ... if we wouldn't like to be treated these ways, why is it okay for us to treat others like that?

Have some of our morals and values become extinct? Do they suddenly not apply to our lives 20, 30 or even 40 years after we first learned them?

 

None of us are perfect, including me, but the first step is taking the rose colored glasses off and observing ourselves. Sure, it's easier and more convenient to stand back and criticize the way others behave, but it is definitely harder to look at ourselves. They say we can be our own worst critics; how true is that? We'll never see ourselves the way others do (good or bad), but maybe it's time to start.

 

What values do you see lacking in the world today?

More importantly, how can we be part of the solution rather than the problem?

Never Judge A Book ...

There's a saying that says 'never judge a book by it's cover'. It's so true. There's always more to the book than just the first impression you get when you look at the well put-together cover. There's depth, there's plots, there's characters, and there's twists and turns. Now ... think of people as being the proverbial book. We have talents and baggage and lots of opinions, BUT the image we sometimes choose to display to other people is only a small glimpse of what we're all about.

It's when you take the time to get to know people that you find out what really makes them tick, what makes them unique. There's a TV commercial that's currently airing for Domino's Pizza that has a tagline that says 'We want you to get to know the people who are making your pizza.' A young pizza maker explains that her hands don't just make the dough, but they also create art (and then it shows her creating an amazing painting). What a great concept.

My point is that we should never judge people by what we initially know about them (or rather what we don't know). Give yourself time to peel back their layers like an onion. There's bound to be more beneath the surface. For example, you probably never knew that I used to work as an aviation headhunter. I could tell you more about FBOs, charter airlines, avionics, and a variety of aircraft than you could possibly imagine. You just never know what knowledge or talents people have until you take the time to ask. You might be pleasantly surprised or even impressed. Give people the credit they deserve and never underestimate them or their abilities.

Now, tell me something about you that I don't know.