Questioning America's Morality

As I understand it, the definition of morality is a metamorphic phenomenon based only on the consensus those who construct it. In this sense, morality is a self-defined criterion that is necessarily changing in the same way as the people who define it. Because of this ever-evolving idea, I cannot believe that America has become morally bankrupt. Instead, I believe that societal changes have simply brought on a generational confusion that has led to a questioning of America’s path. However, just as the ideas of justice and equality hinge on specific perspectives, so too does the notion of morality. Indeed, I believe the concept of morality is solely a subjective perception that cannot be evaluated on an objective scale.

In this selection, the claim has been made that America is headed towards a culture devoid of morality. I contend that we cannot know the truth of this claim because the test of a nation’s morality is subject to the previous experiences and values of those evaluating. A person from an older generation will regard the current culture of the United States in a very different way than a person from a newer generation. I can honestly say that I believe that America is still an honest, moral nation comprised generally of hard-working intelligent people. However, because each person carries with them generational biases and a lifetime of experience, my grandfather might judge that the nation is in fact losing touch with morality. Overall, because of this paradox I believe that the qualification of the level of America’s moral integrity is a futile task due to each person’s sentiments and values will affect the ideas that person has about morality.

Furthermore, I agree with Judis in the idea that the new capitalism is quite capable of bringing about positive change, and that those who see a “decline in morality” in America are simply misguided. Rather than seeking changes to society as many do, I think we as Americans need to work harder to understand our changing society. Foremost on many people’s minds are issues like abortion, gay marriage, and growing government. To cope with these new ideas, I believe that an effective and “moral” approach would be to abstain from blindly condemning these new developments, as some older generations do, and instead trying to further understand the underlying forces that brought these phenomena to the forefront of society. In short, the blog prompt asked me what changes I would make to society, but I think the real task is to identify the true driving forces in society today. Only when we understand these changes more thoroughly will people be in a position to define America’s morality as it exists today.