Do you have principles/moral ethics which you follow in your life? Ever felt tempted to just break these principles/ethics for self benefit (to protect self image, reputation; or obtain monetary or non-monetary gains, etc.).
I accidentally made a mistake the other day when I was discarding some waste which is supposed to be place in two layers of waste bags rather than one.
When SB took the waste for disposal, the officer noticed it and scolded him.
SB came back to remind everyone that we are supposed to double-bagged the waste before disposal. At first, I really did not give it much thought as I was busy with my experiments. But when I was done with my experiments (which was about two hours later), I was thinking about the waste disposal matter and it struck me that I maybe the one who have forgotten to double-bag the waste.
Since nobody knew who did the mistake, I had the choice of just keeping silence and forget about it. Then I would not get the blame, since neither the manager nor the lecturer knew about it. Should I tell or should I not tell? Should I protect my image or should I just let people know I was careless and made the mistake?
What was my choice?
I approached SB to ask whether the waste was from the bin next to my place and was it in a yellow bag (many people use that bin). He confirmed it. And I knew it was really my fault. So, I immediately apologized to him and admitted that it was my negligence that caused him the scolding.
Yes, some people may say, since nobody knew, I could have just acted ‘dumb’. But at the end of the day, I guess we still need to live with our conscience. I did not feel good knowing that SB was scolded for my mistake. Yes, by telling others about it, everyone would know that I was careless. But at least, I feel better.
In reality, how many of us are being tempted to go against principles and moral ethics? How many of us succumbed to such temptations to benefit ourselves? What is the cause for us to sway so easily from moral values? Is it because we just want to portray a ‘I’m-never-wrong’ image to others, in other words being egocentric? Or is it an upbringing problem where our parents and families have not exposed us to the correct values? Or is it a matter of formal education problem which we have received through institutions?
If we choose to go against moral values, against principles, whose fault is it? Ours? Parents? Teachers?
In the first place, should we go against moral ethics and principles? Can you answer this truthfully?
I accidentally made a mistake the other day when I was discarding some waste which is supposed to be place in two layers of waste bags rather than one.
When SB took the waste for disposal, the officer noticed it and scolded him.
SB came back to remind everyone that we are supposed to double-bagged the waste before disposal. At first, I really did not give it much thought as I was busy with my experiments. But when I was done with my experiments (which was about two hours later), I was thinking about the waste disposal matter and it struck me that I maybe the one who have forgotten to double-bag the waste.
Since nobody knew who did the mistake, I had the choice of just keeping silence and forget about it. Then I would not get the blame, since neither the manager nor the lecturer knew about it. Should I tell or should I not tell? Should I protect my image or should I just let people know I was careless and made the mistake?
What was my choice?
I approached SB to ask whether the waste was from the bin next to my place and was it in a yellow bag (many people use that bin). He confirmed it. And I knew it was really my fault. So, I immediately apologized to him and admitted that it was my negligence that caused him the scolding.
Yes, some people may say, since nobody knew, I could have just acted ‘dumb’. But at the end of the day, I guess we still need to live with our conscience. I did not feel good knowing that SB was scolded for my mistake. Yes, by telling others about it, everyone would know that I was careless. But at least, I feel better.
In reality, how many of us are being tempted to go against principles and moral ethics? How many of us succumbed to such temptations to benefit ourselves? What is the cause for us to sway so easily from moral values? Is it because we just want to portray a ‘I’m-never-wrong’ image to others, in other words being egocentric? Or is it an upbringing problem where our parents and families have not exposed us to the correct values? Or is it a matter of formal education problem which we have received through institutions?
If we choose to go against moral values, against principles, whose fault is it? Ours? Parents? Teachers?
In the first place, should we go against moral ethics and principles? Can you answer this truthfully?
0 comments:
Post a Comment