Gabrielle Cuebas
September 8, 2008
Dr. Chaffee HUP 104
The foundation of every society in the world is based upon morality. In simplest
terms, morality is about the customs and values shown through ones character or
community. For some, it helps them distinguish the difference between right and wrong.
For example, one country may have a unique code of conduct that authorizes certain
behavior as right and wrong; good or evil. Robbing a bank is illegal in America. Serving
time in jail or doing community service would be the right thing to do and justify that
behavior. My personal moral values did not develop fully from society. I behave a certain
way and make decisions based on experiences of my own and those of others. The
following sections are answers derived from questions based on my moral values.
I do not believe we have a moral responsibility towards the unfortunate. How do
we know that the reason misfortune has befallen them is not because of their own
actions? Besides poverty that makes people unfortunate, it is ones own actions that bring
misfortune, such as lying, adultery and stealing. It is very hard to tell when someone on
the street or in handcuffs is in that state because of bad luck or because of their own
doing. It is dispiriting to see someone homeless or ill, but sometimes it can be dangerous
to help a stranger because we don't know what his or her intentions are after we help
them.
I have made damaging decisions in the past and I was very angry and confused
because I wondered why no one wanted to help me. However, it was my fault I got in
trouble, so it was my responsibility to get myself out. One cannot expect people to look
out for them if they will not even look out for themselves. Every individual is responsible
for his or her actions. So unless I know why one is unfortunate, I do not feel obliged to do
anything for them.
I think it is absurd that animals should suffer through experiments for our benefit.
If human beings are so desperate to have such a good quality life, then they should be the
ones being tested on. Scientists seem to forget the fact that animals are living, breathing
beings. They are no different from humans accept that they cannot communicate with us
or express themselves. They feel pain the same way we do. We have no way of truly
knowing that the product they were tested with is hurting them.
So many things are being tested on animals are useless. It doesn't mean that they
won't function in the way that they are supposed to, but there are thousands of products
that scientists and inventors have already created for us without animal testing. There is
no point to test on animals for a product that already exists. So why torture animals for
products they are NEVER going to use? Once the testing is done, the animals are left for
dead unless what has been done to them has not harmed them.
Animal testing is unnecessary. If scientists were to suggest that we should test dog
shampoo on a human being as an experiment, people would probably respond to them in
outrage and say that is the most ridiculous idea they've ever heard? How could testing a
human really prove how the product will affect the animal? If anything is to be
experimented on to improve the quality of our lives, it should be us.
I do not agree with sustaining life at all costs. A good example of this is the life
support system. If the patient is going to remain comatose for the remainder of their lives
or is terminally ill then there is no point in keeping them alive. It doesn't make sense to
live as a vegetable until death, or even worse, suffering through pain for a disease that is
ultimately going to kill them anyway. For the terminally ill patient, what keeps them alive
is most likely hurting them. I would never want to make someone suffer through that.
Thankfully I have never experience something like this, but I know that I would make the
decision of ending someone's pain. It would be a very difficult decision to make, but
people need to detach themselves emotionally for a moment and realize the reality that
everyone needs to die at some point.
When it comes to someone confiding in me with a secret, I usually keep it to
myself. However, if the reason behind it can harm them, I do not think it is wrong to
divulge that secret. Trust is a very big issue among society these days. It is important for
people to know they can have confidence in someone because that also shows a sign of
reliability.
I will ultimately look out for the person's and my own interest. Telling the secret
would benefit them because it is a sort of protection that I provided them. Not telling it
can also be my disadvantage because I may never know what can go wrong if I didn't and
that person may end up angry with me for not taking action. I would rather know that I
made a positive difference (even though the person who confided in me may not agree)
than not have done anything, because the result of that could have been much worse.
I strongly believe that regardless of race, religion or gender, everyone should be
given equal opportunities. This issue is usually found in the work force. Those
characteristics have absolutely nothing to do with how well someone can take on a task.
It is very sad to see people taken advantage of. Everywhere I go, especially in restaurants,
I notice that the hardest workers are the immigrants, whom barely receive an income, let
alone respect.
However, I do believe that it is important that if people want to be taken seriously
in this world and be respected then they should make it their priority to be equal in this
world. Sometimes it's hard for me to pity these people because most of them don't even
want to get an education or learn the English language. Aside from that, no one should
ever be considered inferior compared to anyone else because no one is better than anyone
else is. For example, I know several filthy rich people, who may have a blooming social
life, but their family is a wreck and they aren't loved. There are also people out there who
feel so superior because of their intelligence that they look down upon others, making it
very hard to make friends.
So far, in my youth, I have learned from my family and society how to live my
life a certain way. Nevertheless, I feel that I guided myself through my journey of
discovering and understanding what I believe to be my moral values. Although one's
community and family may play an immense role in the choices we make in our lives, it
is really one's duty to learn about life on their own, whether through personal or public
experiences, because everyone's beliefs are always conflicting. People need to think for
themselves without being dictated by some chief ruler. My moral values are part of who I
am and I will continue to develop them on my own.