I specifically avoid writing about political things in this blog. It is very intentional. It’s not that I don’t have opinions, in fact people that know me well know that I’m very opinionated. It’s just that I work hard to avoid being divisive in my job, and we’re living in a time where politics is very “us vs. them.” This blog still won’t be about politics, but I don’t think that avoiding politics means not taking a stand about important things. My job field, Social Work, follows a well-defined and lengthy Code of Ethics, and a major emphasis within the Code is advocacy for those who need help or who are taken advantage of. It also acknowledges that we should stand up in a way that doesn’t drive away people that we could otherwise help. I’m going to shoot for that balance today.
I liked the definition that I found in a VeryWellMind article* on the difference between morality and ethics. Morality is one’s personal definition of right and wrong, while ethics are what a group decides is right or wrong. Morality is naturally going to differ from person to person, and this is a good thing. It creates debate and allows us the opportunity to dig in and further develop our sense of right and wrong. I think that people can have strongly held convictions while having different ideas of what is morally right, and because of this, we can push each other to further develop our individual morality.
We can have different opinions about some very major things, like rights surrounding healthcare, immigration, abortion and other political hot topics. People have every right to draw their own conclusion about what is right and wrong regarding these and other heavy issues. There are some things, however, that are so universal that they go beyond politics. Collectively we’ve decided that neglect, abuse, or sexual assault of a child is a truly horrible thing to do. Actually, physically or sexually assaulting anyone of any age isn’t ever acceptable. It isn’t illegal to hold sexist, homophobic, or racist beliefs, but it is illegal to deny employment or housing to someone on the basis of their gender, ethnicity, or sexual orientation, so we can take this a step further and say that as a society we’ve decided that sexism, racism, and discrimination against LGBTQ+ folks is wrong. Everyone reading this has their own sense of morality which is based on their views. That’s actually a beautiful thing. We don’t have to agree with each other, but there are some things that are law regardless of how we feel about them as individuals.
As part of my attempt to not be political in this post, I’m not going to talk about ICE, anyone in political power, or the Epstein files. However, it is a fair and reasonable expectation that every single person in this country should expect to not be harmed by anyone in a position of power. This should apply to those who create the rules, to those that enforce the rules, and to those without any power over others. Our constitution grants us the freedom to disagree with each other and especially with our leaders. We’re not supposed to have to be in fear of speaking out, and a scary thing right now is that some of us are publicly justifying harming one another because of different political views. I think it’s time for ALL of us to get back to basics and clarify the values we stand for. This goes beyond opinions about issues and gets to the core of what is important to us. I doubt anyone out there actually stands for harming others, and it’s important that we stop hating each other for disagreeing about things. Can we all agree to try to get back to compassion rather than hate? Consider next time, before you respond to someone who has a different point of view, if it's their right to hold that view (even if you disagree), and then try to have a healthy discussion on each of your perspectives. Lets lead others together to be better humans who can show empathy and compassion in spite of differences.
At RSC, we don’t judge clients for who they are or what they’ve experienced, and we definitely don’t judge or discriminate based on who people vote for. We stand against harming children and other adults, and we stand against discrimination. We believe every human has rights and we hope to empower our clients to advocate for those rights. We’re also more than happy to help anyone who would like to work toward whatever change is necessary in their own lives.
*https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-morality-5076160