2008 Woodie Awards
No More Relativism, Please
Is acceptance in our near future?
Jami Furo
Issue date: 4/29/05 Section: Opinions
- Page 1 of 1
There are some things that just need to be said-no matter how unpopular they are.
Over the years, our society has developed significantly when it comes to tolerance and acceptance of other cultures, races, religions, and ways of life. However, racism, sexism, and other forms of discrimination have not been eradicated, I'm sorry to say. But, when comparing our society to the America 50 years ago, we have come a long way.
That being said, we have a new problem at hand, and the beast's name is moral relativism. We as Americans, in our search for tolerance of all peoples, have come to accept tolerance of all ideas. We have come to accept the idea that truth is relative and that each person decides their own moral code-like existentialism, I suppose. I never liked existentialism.
It is our responsibility as human beings to accept all people of different religions and cultures. However, it is also our responsibility to not accept their beliefs if they contradict our own. By accepting beliefs that contradict our own, we are denying our own beliefs. By saying that everyone is right, we are betraying our own sense of truth.
For example, how I can say that I do not believe that abortion is right. However, if I say that it is right for you even though it is not for me, am I not saying that it is right? Am I not condoning it? Am I not saying that it is moral even though I do not believe that it is a moral decision for me?
This mentality has changed our definition of tolerance. Tolerance used to refer to accepting people and their right to believe what they want. However, just because people have the right to believe what they want (which they absolutely should), that does not mean that we have to believe that what they believe is right.
As convoluted as that sounds, it is actually fairly simple. We can accept a person without accepting their beliefs. We can accept a person's right to a belief system without accepting that belief system. I believe that people should have the freedom to practice whichever religion they choose-or do not choose, as the case may be. However, that does not change the fact that I believe my religion to be the correct one. If you practice a different religion than I do, I hope that you believe that your religion is correct. We do not have to agree. We must only accept each other as people and our right to practice our own beliefs.
Truth is not something that we decide. It is something that we perceive, and two contradictory truths cannot coexist. We will always disagree. However, in order to establish peace among us, we do not need to compromise our beliefs and accept all truths. We must simply accept each other. As long as we treat each other with love and respect, it is okay to believe in one universal moral code. In fact, we it is necessary. He who believes everything actually believes in nothing.
Have a good summer, Rollins. Thank you for reading. I know you may not always think that I'm right. In that case, I don't think that you're right. At least we agree that there is a right and there is a wrong. It's a step in the right direction.
Over the years, our society has developed significantly when it comes to tolerance and acceptance of other cultures, races, religions, and ways of life. However, racism, sexism, and other forms of discrimination have not been eradicated, I'm sorry to say. But, when comparing our society to the America 50 years ago, we have come a long way.
That being said, we have a new problem at hand, and the beast's name is moral relativism. We as Americans, in our search for tolerance of all peoples, have come to accept tolerance of all ideas. We have come to accept the idea that truth is relative and that each person decides their own moral code-like existentialism, I suppose. I never liked existentialism.
It is our responsibility as human beings to accept all people of different religions and cultures. However, it is also our responsibility to not accept their beliefs if they contradict our own. By accepting beliefs that contradict our own, we are denying our own beliefs. By saying that everyone is right, we are betraying our own sense of truth.
For example, how I can say that I do not believe that abortion is right. However, if I say that it is right for you even though it is not for me, am I not saying that it is right? Am I not condoning it? Am I not saying that it is moral even though I do not believe that it is a moral decision for me?
This mentality has changed our definition of tolerance. Tolerance used to refer to accepting people and their right to believe what they want. However, just because people have the right to believe what they want (which they absolutely should), that does not mean that we have to believe that what they believe is right.
As convoluted as that sounds, it is actually fairly simple. We can accept a person without accepting their beliefs. We can accept a person's right to a belief system without accepting that belief system. I believe that people should have the freedom to practice whichever religion they choose-or do not choose, as the case may be. However, that does not change the fact that I believe my religion to be the correct one. If you practice a different religion than I do, I hope that you believe that your religion is correct. We do not have to agree. We must only accept each other as people and our right to practice our own beliefs.
Truth is not something that we decide. It is something that we perceive, and two contradictory truths cannot coexist. We will always disagree. However, in order to establish peace among us, we do not need to compromise our beliefs and accept all truths. We must simply accept each other. As long as we treat each other with love and respect, it is okay to believe in one universal moral code. In fact, we it is necessary. He who believes everything actually believes in nothing.
Have a good summer, Rollins. Thank you for reading. I know you may not always think that I'm right. In that case, I don't think that you're right. At least we agree that there is a right and there is a wrong. It's a step in the right direction.