Nivea Bona, mar,10th, 2017
Call to conscience: Pinocchio´s cricket
For some people, right or wrong is settled like rock. For others, right and wrong can be a big challenge to define. Morality can be different depending on the person, their background, and the decision that is being made. The first question is what is right and what is wrong, and from this question, others can follow.
Nowadays, with all the discussion that is developed on the internet, where everybody can show opinions and, in the same way, hide behind the computer, the conscious decisions of wrong or right have another weigh, heavier than before. But the problem is: where does “conscience” (the awareness of the rules) come from? And when is its role plays for better or for worse? Yes, there is a range, a gap, between all kinds of rights and wrongs.
First, something that needs to be understood is that conscience is shaped in each individual. It doesn’t come in a package from birth. The consciousness of doing right or wrong depends on a daily construction which happens little by little over time. First at home, with parents’ examples, then in society, school, and among some relationships. Telling someone what is right or wrong can be so weak and superficial sometimes... Right in which context? Wrong for whom? Right or wrong depend on the complexity of human beings needs, their culture, and social bounds. I had a philosophy professor that once said, after the class studied all the concepts: ethics are a way of surviving. Morality is a group of social values that drives people´s behavior. It’s a simple way to put this. And “conscience” is knowing all the values, it is being aware of them. It’s the “cricket” reminding everybody about their morals and values, like in Pinocchio’s story.
The complexity is revealed when different religions, cultures, and societies teach and form different morals. Let´s think about some African tribes that control girls´ lives from birth. Leaders decide that they are going to cut the clitoris of all girls when they are 11 years old. They believe this is the right thing to do because, in their culture, many women and men believe the woman can be easily overtaken by her body and desires. This is what their morality dictates, what their religious’ dogmas established. For us, in our culture, this is a cruel crime. We live in a culture where freedom is the greatest value, and which allow us to decide about our body, lives, jobs, places to live, what to buy, what to wear, and so on.
Still, in our western culture, this one which has freedom as a huge value, the truth plays a big role too. That means that lying is wrong in our society like it was wrong in Pinocchio´s story. But, I´ll ask: who has never lied? And how would our routine and lives could be with all the raw truth being told in every relationship? That is the range. Conscience plays a big role in our behavior, but to truly understand the other individual, we need to understand what is behind one’s moral values and, from that, try to make connections and maybe get closer.
A good way to call the conscience into action in political discussions, or in the use of the natural resources, or in the way we relate to the others every day is to use a big amount of empathy. Communication and empathy. When one can place him or herself in the other´s place, it’s easier to understand the point of view and the moral standards behind that behavior. From that knowledge, right and wrong can be clearer. That can be done if both sides can truly communicate, and this communication needs a sharp attention and a real listening. It is a big exercise of understanding the others position and trying to be in their place to get an idea of how conscience can work in guiding their behavior.
Without this calling to conscience and, more than that, a real way to understand one another and communicate, wars would happen every day. We did in the past and we still struggle as a society in those differences between moral values or right and wrong. Let´s think about Palestine, Syria and other conflicts. What is right and wrong? War is wrong. But we are studying and living in the country that promotes the numerous wars around the world. How does that happen? On the other hand, we can see groups everywhere in this same country calling for conscience. The same conscience we share in this occidental world. A Caucasian activist for racial rights, Jane Elliot, who is contemporary of Martin Luther King and still alive, decided to do a controversial experiment in her students’ class, inverting the racial segregation to blue eyed people. She wanted to prove that we learn to be racist. We learn to hate the different person. We learn how to behave and we learn what is right and wrong from the family, school and society. Nelson Mandela had the same position. He used to say that if mankind learns how to hate, it can learn how to love.
History goes in loops, circles, and there are signs that we are going through another loop that shows all the facts together in a prelude to another period of war (Brexit e.g.). This is the moment that needs this kind of position: being empathetic[1]. When we need to call to conscience. And to do the exercise of calling to conscience today we need to make some people around us to do the exercise of being in the others’ place. We need to communicate, to feel the others´ life and problems and inviting who wants, of doing the same exercise. Maybe doing that we can stop this tendency.
One example of this exercise just happened last week in Brazil. We have been noticing in the last five years an increase of fascist behavior in our society (in United States with Trump´s speeches and ideas). Some people believe in the opinions and ideologic positions that police forces can solve our social problems using violence and fear. This belief drives people to root for the criminals being killed. They have the expression: “a good criminal is a dead criminal”. On December, 2016 there was a horrible bloodbath in one prison. Prisoners killed 56 others with a gang’s motivation. The public opinion was divided, of course. Some people were celebrating that we had now 56 less criminals. But others were trying to awake consciences using empathy to do that. One of the comments in a social media was:
“I saw my brother-in-law, that is divorced from my sister, saying that those criminals should all be killed. He said that was a good end to them. I just reminded him that he is lucky that my sister didn´t denounce him for not paying the kids´ pension. Because he could be one of them. He blocked me. I don´t know why, if I was just saying…”
We learned what is right and wrong in our society. And even learning, sometimes we forget the rules that need to drive our life. Calling on our conscience can help all of us to remember.
[1] This is an article that can add some information to this subject. https://medium.com/@theonlytoby/history-tells-us-what-will-happen-next-with-brexit-trump-a3fefd154714#.r06t18blt
Comentários
Postar um comentário
Ei! Seja bem-vindo!