Ethics

            A great number of people would argue that there are very few things, which our American society holds dear. However, after the events on September eleventh just over a year ago, it became abundantly clear that the one thing we revere the most is our freedom and ability to choose in a democratically based republic. It is this ability to choose, and the mutual respect of other people's right to choose based in their own beliefs which makes picking and finding one single, moral, and ethical law to govern any situation a difficult task. Too often people see morality and ethics as a clear cut black and white issue, but I feel that the truth must lie somewhere in varying shades of gray. This is in stark contrast to the idea that there must be some sort of natural law which governs all human beings. According to the theory of natural law, our laws are merely a reflection of this foggy, grander conceptual law which exists somewhere in the minds of all people. In our society, we make the best laws that we can in accordance with the general idea of morality most people have. We do this in the hope that we can come as close as possible to the ideal, and create a productive and good place for all people to live. The problem is that there is no great consensus on what this ideal law is, and until we reach that point, we must fall back on trusting that other people's ethics and morality are just as valid as our own, and allow them to make their own choices within the bounds of the laws the majority of society has already laid down. Taking away from their choice within this construct is to deny them the human rights which the rest of us already enjoy. I am not saying that anyone who wishes to commit a murder should be respected and allowed to do so, because that would go against the great majority of morals, as well as having no logical benefit to humanity. However, there are several other issues that exist in the "shades of gray" I spoke of before.