Week 26 - "It's easy enough to preach morality on a full belly" - Erwin Sylvanus

Morality is an interesting topic. It drives almost all of our actions and thoughts, yet varies so differently from person to person. What’s morally reprehensible to you may be commonplace for me, and vice versa. And despite our differing moral compasses that guide our lives, we often find ourselves readily judging others for their actions or decisions.

Even more interesting is the way we can pass moral judgment on others even when we benefit from “morally wrong” decisions. In some situations, we benefit from the decisions that we, from our supposed moral high ground, condemn in others.

The clearest example of this is in politics. In an industry driven by morals, we (the majority of the population) get to judge the decisions politicians make while enjoying the fruits of their choices. It’s a privilege that allows us to lambast the same decisions we benefit from. A textbook definition of hypocrisy.

An instance that immediately comes to mind is the price of gas. I can sit at home and shake my head when the government decides to keep moving forward with unsustainable oil drilling practices. But when I go to my local gas station and enjoy the current price of gas, I’m benefitting from the very thing I say I’m against.

This idea isn’t unique to politics either. In any difficult decision that you don’t have to make, you can sit on a moral high ground and reap the benefits.

However, this isn’t always the case. There are moments where our judgment stems from being harmed by someone else’s choices. And it is important to mention that these difficult decisions aren’t always made with people’s best intentions in mind. I’m not naive enough to think that people, especially politicians, are always driven by a righteous heart or belief in fairness. The reality is that a good chunk of them are probably motivated by a personal vendetta or influence from outsiders.

But I do think there are a lot of good people out there who make hard decisions all the time. And in my eyes, it’s ridiculous to judge them with your moral compass, especially if you’re in any way benefitting.

I guess my real point is that it’s easy to feel morally superior to most, but I’ll always feel uncomfortable judging the decision someone else makes if I’m secretly enjoying the benefits.

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