Is Morality Now a Matter of Personal Opinion?

How does one determine right from wrong?

According to a book called Lost in Transition by Christian Smith, it seems that young Americans are not sure.  Apparently they lack the moral framework to adequately address moral dilemmas or even to know when they are being confronted with one.  Rape and murder are obviously wrong in their minds, but what about lying to one’s roommate, cheating on a test, or stealing a few dollars from mother’s purse?  Is there a moral sense in our young people in which these “lesser” forms of wrong-doing are thought of as immoral and therefore as something one must not, or should not do?  One interviewee put it this way: “I don’t really deal with right and wrong that often.”  Alas, it would seem that questions of morality are not even on the radar-screen in the thinking of young people today.

Are moral choices now a matter of personal taste these days?  In our highly individualistic, independent, self-made, and self-determining society, it seems that the individual is the sole judge as to what is right or wrong—who’s to say?

Let’s think about it….

What is our source of Moral Authority today?  Who determines right from wrong?  Is morality revealed from “on high,” or is it discovered?  Or is morality simply inherited, imposed, shared, given, taught, something that we choose of our own accord?  It used to be clearly understood that God sets moral standards: “Thou shalt not…!”  Not anymore.  That being the case, who is to tell us what is right from what is wrong?  Is it the rich and powerful, the educated intelligentsia, the elected politician, the scientist, the media and trend-setting artist types?  Who?

What is the basis and purpose of morality?  Is it our happiness and pleasure, to feel good?  Why morality?  Is goodness its own reward?  Or is morality a means to a greater end?  If so, what is that end, what is the purpose of living a moral life?  In short, why should we bother with the moral question at all?

What is the measure of morality?  How do I know that I am being moral?  If what I am doing feels right, does that mean it’s moral?  Perhaps the measure of my success in being a moral person is whether or not it brings me happiness?  That can’t be, because being moral can often lead to great heartache and pain—telling the truth when it hurts, keeping one’s promise even at great sacrifice to one’s self.  So, obviously one’s pleasure cannot be an adequate measure of one’s morality?  So how do we know whether or not we are being successfully moral?

And finally, what does an appropriate moral framework for society look like?  Is it a common set of rules, laws, and regulations applied in the same manner by the same degree to the same people of one mind?  Must this moral framework be shared by all or only by a few powerful leaders?  Or, inversely, is morality only to be applied to the lower masses, with top powerful leaders being exempt from its standards?  Is morality only relative to person, place, and period, as one interviewee put it (when asked about questions of right and wrong): “I mean, I guess what makes something right is how I feel about it.  But different people feel different ways, so I couldn’t speak on behalf of anyone else as to what’s right and wrong.”  Should we conclude then that there is no unifying moral framework at all, no universal moral framework that is to be applied to all?

So what is America’s moral framework?  Is it freedom?  Is that it?  What are America’s essential moral principles?  Is it democracy and the right to happiness?  Is that all?  But what if my freedom becomes your enslavement or your right becomes my oppression?  What then?  And so, what is the basis of your moral framework?  And what is the authoritative source of your moral principles?  Do you live by them?  If not, what are the consequences?  If so, what are the benefits?

And, if there is a God, what might God have to say about our moral standards these days?  Hint: read what Jesus says in the Gospels and find out for yourself.