Political Morality
Political MoralityIn Webster's dictionary, morality is defined as "principles
of right and wrong in conduct; ethics." The principles of
morality have countless times evolved over the ages. In earlier
times, death was an easy penalty for many crimes. These crimes
today are considered minor and are penalized with a slap on the
hand. Is this considered wrong? Who is the correct authority to
consult on what is right or wrong? In today's society, two major
factors concern how the way members of society act and behave.
The first is our national government.
Members of our government in positions of authority decide
everything in our lives in the form of laws which determine our
behavior. One of the most important documents written by our
government is the Declaration of Independence. The monarchy was
taking away power from the colonists and putting more demands on.
In return, the colonists declared their freedom from their
tyrant. In this document, it states, "All men are created equal;
that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable
rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness." The great men who wrote this down had a strong sense
of morals. They believed that men were given rights by God that
no one could take away. This is essential to the issue of
morality because it determines the rights- that are agreed upon
all- are wrong.
This brings us to religion. Religion is a major contributor
to how we think and act because it mirrors our beliefs in what we
hold as right or wrong. An example of this is the native tribes
of africa and South America where a number of tribes practice
cannibalism. While this is considered a sin in most christian
religions, the tribes have evolved into cannibalism as a way to
survive in life and have no objections to their eating habits.
The problem arises when the line between government and religion
is crossed. While religion does not have to power to punish one
physically, but rather soulfully of one has sinned. The
government has the power to sentence punishment, yet should have
no power concerning God.
Many different religions have evolved all over the world and
in the process, have people have been prosecuted in their faith.
The first settlers in the new world came here to avoid
prosecution from the powerful church/government of that time.
Specifically, the Church of England headed by the king. Puritan
leaders led their followers to a place where they could express
their religion with no fear of other faiths. One such leader was
John Winthrop.
John Winthrop was a powerful Puritan governor in the...
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