The urgent need for global morality revival

The urgent need for global morality revival

بقلم: الأستاذ محمد لهلال

We are living in an age of stark materialistic pursuits and bestial civilization that require indispensable rethinking of the very purpose of our life on this earth. The ethical principles have become of secondary concern while individualistic-driven motivations have trumped all other priorities. Individualism, egotism, hedonism and injustice have reigned supreme in all aspects of our lives as individuals and societies. Is it not high time we changed the course of a civilization steering towards more confusion, desolation and calamities? Is it not an obligation for the sensible and noble-minded elite to raise their voice and alert to the dangers humanity is facing when even the common standards of human principles that should govern our conducts and policies are put into question, instead of staying aloof from the daily assaults on what remains of human morality that some of us still embrace? Is it possible to win the battle of reviving human morality in this environment of global media that grab the power of disseminating the image of man in pursuit of more pleasure, rivalry and power and that morality has no place in this world anymore?

In this article I would lay out the different features of the moral crisis on the levels of society, politics, economy and culture. Then I would suggest some elements to address the issue of global moral crisis:

Societal moral crisis:

The very fabric of our societies has been shattered by targeting the concepts of family, parenthood and motherhood. The gender identity theory has spread more confusion and doubts on the nature of male and female humans and pushed feminist groups and LGTB proponents to gain more grounds and voice their rebellion against the ethical foundations of human relationships and human reproduction. Many countries in the western world have authorized gay marriage and adoption of children, and any opposition to this trend today is faced with accusations of human rights disrespect and violation of the liberty principle. What is more threatening today is that the gender identity theory targets children at school by injecting in the school programs items that teach kids to make distinction between sex and gender identity. And imagine how hard and confusing it is for children to grasp such assumptions at the very beginning of their development and how much worry the parents will have to track the behavior of their kids and identify their “gender” instead of helping them enhance their cognitive skills and behave according to their natural sex differences.

Political moral crisis:

Due to the unrestrained pursuit for power and hegemony, the international community has failed to deliver the pledges of equity between all nations and to apply the ethical standards decreed in the United Nations charter on equal footing. The most powerful countries in the world are the ones who tailor decisions in accordance with their interests, punish “rebellious” countries and have the exclusive right to veto any resolution that might menace the interests of any member of the powerful club. The discriminatory practices have widened the gap between those who wield the real power and the countries who seek a place on world stage to have their say on policies and air their grievances. What is more outrageous is that the powerful countries who champion the ideals of democracy and freedom are the ones who endorse many autocratic regimes against civil forces of liberty across the world. Unless ethical values of justice are dispensed to all peoples of the world, humanity will remain under the scourge of wars, instability and calamities.

Economic moral crisis:

Disparities in economic wealth and distribution have widened between the rich and poor countries. How can we explain countries in Africa which are rich in natural resources, and yet they live in extreme poverty? The industrialized world has starkly tapped most of these resources to its favor for very little money to corrupt leaders who seek only to amplify their personal wealth at the expense of their fellow subjects. The capitalism of multinational corporations promotes the culture of consumerism and does not take into account the sufferings of millions of needy people, this is seen as collateral damage in their unethical process of plundering riches and increasing profits through malevolent ways as long as the end justifies the means. Besides these predatory policies, the industrialized world has caused a lot of damage to our environment. Environmentalists have long sounded the alarm and have alerted to the dangers of climate change and environment degradation, but the powerful corporations are deaf to these calls and hear only the call of their egos and individualistic impulses.

Cultural moral crisis:

Due to the speedy advances in technology and information, the modern human being receives on a daily basis an avalanche of conflicting news and information which land him in confusion to the extent he can no longer make the difference between the true and fake news. As a result, man’s suspicion and doubt about everything have increased, man finds it easy to ascribe any event to a conspiracy, and truth is ultimately the victim. Besides, the culture of distraction, hedonism and materialism has widely spread and any talk about religion or spiritual orientation is derided as obsolete and irrelevant. Artistic events which are supposed to enhance taste and educate people have morphed into a space where futility and base instincts are appealed, and the end result is a generation highly prone to violence and rebellion.

In conclusion, these are some aspects of the moral crisis in our modern world, and there is more to elaborate on to show how urgent it is for the noble-minded people and organizations who care to revive morality and ethics in our communities to cooperate and coordinate their efforts to save the world.