What happens if we were not taught
to be what others deem to be ethical in our youth? Is it too late or can we
change?
I think that we are constantly
changing in tweaking our minds, sometimes in large ways, usually in small
ways. As we grow and experience new
things, and acquire new information, we are able to process this in our minds. Once the new information has been analyzed we
can decide (subconsciously or not), whether or not it is something that we wish
to align with our values or ethics.
Surviving a horrific car accident with a drunk driver or being hit by a
drunk driver may alter your ethical view of the situation. You may look at drunk driving, road safety
rules and even car safety rules in a new way, or you may hold onto the same
ethics. If you find yourself or someone
close to you in an abusive relationship, you may have a new look at the
situation. If you are raped and have to
look at possible pro-choice options, it may change your views again. As someone in a hostile or wartime
environment, the experiences you are immersed in are always evolving your
ethical view of the world. We are given
a basic ethical blueprint as children, but each layer of life expounds upon and
at times changes the ethical values that we hold dear.
I know that I personally have a
strong ethical view of different things to do with women; specifically topics
such as abuse, alcoholism, codependence, lack of standing up for oneself,
parenting values, marriage, etc. Living
with certain experiences within my own families and of those of close relatives
shapes my ethical values of basic things.
I saw a lot of people doing things or not doing things when they should
be that felt wrong to the core of my being.
Witnessing this and living through first-hand accounts largely shaped my
basic core of ethical values. However,
someone experiencing the exact same things may have come up with completely
different ethical values. While my
father is a recovering alcoholic, he did go to treatment and remained in
remission for decades, I attended AA meetings with him and learned a lot about
the disease that he fought, this helped me know the dilemma in an intimate
way. I could have instead become
desensitized to this issue if handled or viewed from another way and not have
seen alcoholism as an issue, but rather as a way of life. There are very few things in our society that
do not, in one way or another, include alcohol.
Does that make me anti-alcohol, no, but it could have for someone
else. Our personal ethical beliefs are
comprised of the totality of our personal experiences, knowledge and our
perception of such.
