And sometimes morality is subjective.
We live in a fundamental state, one of the most fundamental, conservative states. Currently Ted Cruz, arguably the worst possible candidate and a Texas Republican Senator, is running for president. If you automatically know his name by the time you read this, then the future has gone horribly wrong. I blame the generation that precedes me, by the way.
Morality is not based on religion, despite the popular opinion to the contrary. Morality is based on objectivity, much to the dismay of our lesser-enlightened counterparts, which you will undoubtedly interact with in the future. Being able to see more than our narrow-minded views of the world, there is something bigger than all of us, a more than religion and culture and noise of today: life.
Yup. These are Q-Tips. Hear no evil or some shit. Right?
When you take a step back and see, just look, at the living, breathing ecosystem of life and culture you begin to appreciate that there is much more than what we know to be true. This is being objective. You may be unfortunate enough to have a boss one day that says “think outside the box,” which, in itself, is a really in-the-box way of saying “be objective.” I mean, don’t call him/her out on it, just know better. Being creative or objective doesn’t start with someone telling you to “think outside the box.” Maybe I’m just an asshole.
When it comes to morals, there are many things that are universally true: don’t kill, don’t lie, don’t cheat, don’t steal… But all of these “rules” are subjective. When a government tells you not to kill but they send troops overseas to kill, maybe think about that. When you’re starving and you have to make ends meet, maybe question the rules. When a woman asks you if they look fat, for the love of fuck say no, always; let them take their frustrations out on the scale.
We all make decisions in our lives that will call out moral compass into question, but if you stick by the only true barometer—a common theme that will undoubtedly persist throughout my writing here, as you’ve noticed—respect. Sometimes you have to choose who to respect. which is a challenge. There could be two very viable sides, but maybe take yourself into account as well, it’s perfectly fine to be the deciding vote on occasion.
Your mother and I will instill values and morality in you, because that’s what we do as parents. It’s our job to make sure you understand the difference between what is acceptable and what is not. With any rules, once you know them well, it is up to you to break the rules when the time is right. Just don’t be an asshole, and always do your best to make decisions, even with questionable morality, that do not harm others, physically, emotionally, or otherwise.
Be good and make good choices based on what you know to be true and objective, not what others tell you.