An essay on morality

My dad is conducting scholarship interviews this weekend. As a former recipient of the same scholarship, he asked me to respond to the question they will be giving to the applicants. They will be given the following quote, and asked to articulate their response to it.

“A nation, as a society, forms a moral person, and every member of it is personally responsible for his society.” Thomas Jefferson



Here is my response:

Morality (as defined by the American Heritage Dictionary)
The quality of being in accord with standards of right or good conduct.
A system of ideas of right and wrong conduct: religious morality; Christian morality.
Virtuous conduct.
A rule or lesson in moral conduct.

I believe it is the responsibility of a nation to train its children in morality. Morality implies that there is a right and a wrong, black and white. There are well-defined rules for behavior, thought, and action, as well as consequences for those actions. Morality also implies virtue, implies that a person will choose to walk the higher and nobler ground. A virtuous, moral person will choose to put the needs of others, of the society, above himself. He will choose to walk within the boundaries defined and taught by his society, to resist those temptations that so easily lead man astray.

One session in front of the nightly news is enough to prove that this nation has fallen sadly short of this mark. I believe our nation began with every intention to raise a society of moral, virtuous men and women. However, the very principles our forefathers held so dear are the same principles that have led to the degradation of our society. A desire for religious freedom has led to the persecution of any religion that claims strict morality. The passion for a republic, where the power lies with the voting populace to elect representatives, has turned into a popularity contest, where the issues are forgotten and “popular” candidates are elected. The belief in a free economy, not controlled by the state, has so obviously been turned on its head in the last year. This same free economy our forefathers believed in has shown its ugly side.

All these principles could have been used to produce a society of moral, responsible individuals. Instead, it has produced a nation of ungrateful, selfish, arrogant children. We spend irresponsibly, and then expect the government to fix our problems. We pay athletes millions of dollars to be the best and entertain us, then become “morally” outraged when those same athletes feel they must resort to illegal methods to “keep up”. Is it any wonder we have become the laughing stock of the free world? We brandish our morality sword in front of the faces of other nations, forcing them by might to live up to an expectation we have long ago relinquished in favor of entertainment and entitlement. Is it any wonder that we, as a nation, are severely lacking moral citizens who will be responsible for their society?

Yes, it is the responsibility of a nation to produce a moral citizen. Yes, every member of that nation is responsible for the society created. And, yes, we as a nation will someday be held accountable for the society we have created. And I shudder to think of the consequences of our actions.