nighthawksw
09-19-2006, 05:02 PM
Today in my Philosophy class I heard a disturbing story: nurses in a hospice were gambling on which day people in the hospice would die. It gets worse. The act became public because they caught a nurse upping the dose of morphine on her “day” during her shift, effectively killing the man. Here’s the kicker: She would turn up the amount for only a few moments, and then adjust it back to normal so that nobody would notice. Nobody is sure how long this had been occurring, but it’s very possible this single case isn’t the only case.
The value of human life is declining. It’s not difficult to find areas in society, entertainment, or stories where actions have become more severe and graphic over the years, some are saying it’s the worst it’s ever been, right now, and it is likely still getting worse. On the television it’s “common place” to find people being tortured in horror movies, and I’m not just talking about their head being dunked in a pool of water and held there. I’m talking about movies like The Saw and Hostel, where we see people being cut all over their body, screaming in pain, heads in devices designed to crush their skulls between two rows of spikes, or limbs being sawed off; all plain to see for the people viewing the movie. How about our divorce rates and the commonplace of cheating on a spouse? We’re also seeing a lot more people in stories and movies cheating on their loved ones and living a happy, great life. Now we’re seeing people killed in hospices’ for a little bit of extra money.
I’m not going to be one of those people who tell you it’s all because of the media and what we’re seeing in TV. On the contrary, I loved The Saw 2 (haven’t seen the other two), and I like the movies coming out these days a lot more than movies like, “the thing” in black and white. I will say, however, that as the violence and obscenities become more and more common, it also becomes more and more important to ensure that we’re teaching strong values, morals, and ways of thinking to the youth and our friends. Just because we know the rules, doesn’t mean our children will inherently know the same rules. Telling people rules and morals also doesn’t guarantee that they’ll agree with them. Repetition will firmly plant an idea or thought in somebody’s mind, but that also doesn’t guarantee that they’ll follow through when you aren’t around.
I have no sure-fire answers; all I can present here is a problem. Shame is becoming a word of the past, we’re seeing people care less and less about the intentions others hold: who cares if I have a girlfriend and I’m hanging out alone with somebody who won’t stop confessing to me? What’s a kiss or two if I don’t love them? They’re happier and I’m able to hang out with a friend! The problem with that, is that you’re enticing a person and leading them to believe they have a chance. Rather than refusing the kiss, remaining faithful, and spelling it out to your friend that you’re serious about the relationship you’re in and you aren’t going to jeopardize it; forcing them to realize your committed and they need to stop pursuing you even if their feelings can’t die right away (or maybe ever even), they need to know that they have to leave you alone at least for the duration of your relationship. I know I’d be ashamed of myself for getting drunk and making out with another woman when I’m dating somebody, both because I led on the girl I made out with, and because I failed to stay strong and faithful for the girl I care about and made a promise with.
Having sex before marriage has practically become a thing of the past. I’ll be honest: I failed to follow through. I refused quite a few offers, but when everything was going perfectly, and I was promised that they would trust me and open up to me completely, I gave in. I believed in those words, despite the chance that anything could happen in the future. And of course, since we’d done it once, why not again? The promise still stood. The problem is, things fell apart. She wasn’t able to keep true to the promise, partially because of my persistence, and partially because of her stubbornness. Point is, I gave myself to somebody else, whom something might come up with again and I may not even keep in contact with them. No offense intended, but I don’t want to give that much of myself to somebody who may discover they made a mistake about their feelings for me. What’s worse, is on a bus ride to a waterpolo tournament, we had a guy sharing tales of all the girls he’s slept with while drunk, some of them simply asked for his friends’ number the moment he’d finished. They aren’t getting paid for this, they simply don’t want to masturbate and decide they’ll get some pleasure by sleeping around with a bunch of people. Oh, and to make this clear: you’re still a **** in that situation, a **** is somebody who has more than one partner, meaning you aren’t just sleeping with a boyfriend or girlfriend, husband or wife; that you may marry in the future, you’re sleeping with whoever you feel the urge to (It doesn’t require money to be a **** either, that’s a prostitute). I don’t care if you’re a man or a woman, I consider you a **** if you’ve slept with two different people in the same month, even if it is a different boyfriend/girlfriend.
Societies’ moral integrity as a whole is failing. I believe if nothing is done to impede it, we could tear ourselves apart without ever going to war. It isn’t a far step from having sex with people you haven’t known long, to date-rape, to raping random people. It’s not far to venture that curse words will become commonplace not just in junior highs, not just in the later grades of elementary school, but even preschool. It isn’t a far step that people will be killed simply because the doctor doesn’t want to go through the lengthy procedure, or families refuse to give treatment for a child that will only live a longer life rather than be cured for a hefty price. I have my plans for trying to make a difference, this is one of them. I also urge everybody reading this to make their own contribution. Just as a single smile can rebound from person to person like a chain reaction, I hope to fuel a similar effect.
The value of human life is declining. It’s not difficult to find areas in society, entertainment, or stories where actions have become more severe and graphic over the years, some are saying it’s the worst it’s ever been, right now, and it is likely still getting worse. On the television it’s “common place” to find people being tortured in horror movies, and I’m not just talking about their head being dunked in a pool of water and held there. I’m talking about movies like The Saw and Hostel, where we see people being cut all over their body, screaming in pain, heads in devices designed to crush their skulls between two rows of spikes, or limbs being sawed off; all plain to see for the people viewing the movie. How about our divorce rates and the commonplace of cheating on a spouse? We’re also seeing a lot more people in stories and movies cheating on their loved ones and living a happy, great life. Now we’re seeing people killed in hospices’ for a little bit of extra money.
I’m not going to be one of those people who tell you it’s all because of the media and what we’re seeing in TV. On the contrary, I loved The Saw 2 (haven’t seen the other two), and I like the movies coming out these days a lot more than movies like, “the thing” in black and white. I will say, however, that as the violence and obscenities become more and more common, it also becomes more and more important to ensure that we’re teaching strong values, morals, and ways of thinking to the youth and our friends. Just because we know the rules, doesn’t mean our children will inherently know the same rules. Telling people rules and morals also doesn’t guarantee that they’ll agree with them. Repetition will firmly plant an idea or thought in somebody’s mind, but that also doesn’t guarantee that they’ll follow through when you aren’t around.
I have no sure-fire answers; all I can present here is a problem. Shame is becoming a word of the past, we’re seeing people care less and less about the intentions others hold: who cares if I have a girlfriend and I’m hanging out alone with somebody who won’t stop confessing to me? What’s a kiss or two if I don’t love them? They’re happier and I’m able to hang out with a friend! The problem with that, is that you’re enticing a person and leading them to believe they have a chance. Rather than refusing the kiss, remaining faithful, and spelling it out to your friend that you’re serious about the relationship you’re in and you aren’t going to jeopardize it; forcing them to realize your committed and they need to stop pursuing you even if their feelings can’t die right away (or maybe ever even), they need to know that they have to leave you alone at least for the duration of your relationship. I know I’d be ashamed of myself for getting drunk and making out with another woman when I’m dating somebody, both because I led on the girl I made out with, and because I failed to stay strong and faithful for the girl I care about and made a promise with.
Having sex before marriage has practically become a thing of the past. I’ll be honest: I failed to follow through. I refused quite a few offers, but when everything was going perfectly, and I was promised that they would trust me and open up to me completely, I gave in. I believed in those words, despite the chance that anything could happen in the future. And of course, since we’d done it once, why not again? The promise still stood. The problem is, things fell apart. She wasn’t able to keep true to the promise, partially because of my persistence, and partially because of her stubbornness. Point is, I gave myself to somebody else, whom something might come up with again and I may not even keep in contact with them. No offense intended, but I don’t want to give that much of myself to somebody who may discover they made a mistake about their feelings for me. What’s worse, is on a bus ride to a waterpolo tournament, we had a guy sharing tales of all the girls he’s slept with while drunk, some of them simply asked for his friends’ number the moment he’d finished. They aren’t getting paid for this, they simply don’t want to masturbate and decide they’ll get some pleasure by sleeping around with a bunch of people. Oh, and to make this clear: you’re still a **** in that situation, a **** is somebody who has more than one partner, meaning you aren’t just sleeping with a boyfriend or girlfriend, husband or wife; that you may marry in the future, you’re sleeping with whoever you feel the urge to (It doesn’t require money to be a **** either, that’s a prostitute). I don’t care if you’re a man or a woman, I consider you a **** if you’ve slept with two different people in the same month, even if it is a different boyfriend/girlfriend.
Societies’ moral integrity as a whole is failing. I believe if nothing is done to impede it, we could tear ourselves apart without ever going to war. It isn’t a far step from having sex with people you haven’t known long, to date-rape, to raping random people. It’s not far to venture that curse words will become commonplace not just in junior highs, not just in the later grades of elementary school, but even preschool. It isn’t a far step that people will be killed simply because the doctor doesn’t want to go through the lengthy procedure, or families refuse to give treatment for a child that will only live a longer life rather than be cured for a hefty price. I have my plans for trying to make a difference, this is one of them. I also urge everybody reading this to make their own contribution. Just as a single smile can rebound from person to person like a chain reaction, I hope to fuel a similar effect.