MORALITY

When the Katrina debacle took place (along with that Asian tsunami disaster that happened at around the same time), it got me to thinking about philanthropy and the whole concept of people helping people. It is all too obvious that some people get involved in the bad luck of others and feel almost obligated to lend a hand, to do something to help them out.

And just as obvious that some don't.

I wonder about the motivation.

Do people truly want to help others? If so, why? Do they envision the possibilities for their own life? Do they think that if they help someone in need that they will also be helped if and when they are ever in similar circumstances? Am I an asshole for even asking such a question? Maybe. But, be that as it may, I still can't help but wonder what's really driving their behavior. You see, I believe there is something gurgling beneath the surface, something you can't see.

It all has to do with morality. I have a perspective on it that is (I have been told) different than most. Frankly, I don't believe that human beings ever act morally. Prudently, maybe, and expeditiously definitely, but morally? Somehow, I don't think so.

Morality is something like God. It's something we talk about, period. We never do anything but talk about it. It is only a word (like God).

I don't know why, but for some reason I've always entertained the notion that true morality is equivalent to courage. I believe that all the human beings who were helping out in the aftermath of the storm's chaos were doing so because they were prompted by motivations that we will never know.

How could you possibly know what is motivating someone? You simply have to take their word for it. They might claim that they're acting on the basis of purely selfless motives, but are they? How could we know? We may know a lot of stuff, but we never know what is running through someone's mind.

If morality and courage are indeed but two sides of the same coin, we must wonder then whether those who so noticeably offered their time and/or money were acting from courage or fear. Were they acting because they feared what might happen to them if they did not help out? Did they believe in God? Did they believe that God would not look kindly upon their unwillingness to help? Is that the reason they came to the aid of others? If so, their action was not so much moral as prudent. In their heart of hearts they believed that God might punish them for not helping others in need, which means that, ultimately, their actions were based on fear, not courage.

If someone is helping a person in need, and doing so only because they believe it is the right thing to do, not because God might punish them for not doing it, or reward them for doing it, but simply because it is the right thing to do, then they might be acting morally, in a spirit of courage.

I believe it is virtually impossible to act morally if you believe in God. You may act prudently, in a manner that will ensure that you score some points with God (or at least not be punished for inaction or complacency), but you cannot act morally so long as you believe that a Divine Judge might somehow hold you accountable for such inaction, or reward you for involvement.

Here's another slant. Suppose there is a God, and He's observing us to see how we will act in certain circumstances, like in the Katrina chaos. What exactly might He be looking for? Is He truly looking for those who give of themselves, to pat them on the back and tell them what a good job they did? Or, is He looking for those who look out primarily for themselves, thinking that such individuals possess a stronger sense of personal survival and are therefore more worthy of survival? Is God an evolutionist? Is He interested in the survival of the fittest?

God (in the person of Jesus) healed the sick, the halt and the lame, didn't He? Isn't such an act of healing a sure indication that He doesn't approve of sickness or deformity in humans? Why would He heal something that He considered to be perfectly okay? It wouldn't make any sense.

In the same way, maybe He doesn't like weakness in people. Maybe he wants us to be strong, physically and mentally, with an especially powerful sense of survival. Maybe - just maybe - God does not care for these goody goodies who go around helping others all the time. Maybe the ones He really likes are the strong ones, the ones who will do anything, even kill, to survive. Maybe he especially likes the ones who look out for themselves. Who knows? Personally, I don't claim to know the mind of God. I just believe that, if there is one, and you believe in Him, then you can never act morally, i.e., courageously. All of your actions will be either prudent or expeditious. Only an atheist could be truly moral.