Every community and culture has its own diversity. Not every person thinks the same way as the other person thinks; differences exist between cultures and communities. The values and beliefs are affected by the circumstances or situations that the person experiences in his or her life. The value makes a person decide the valuable and the invaluable things in life and the morals allows a person to distinguish between right and wrong and take the right decision accordingly.
The person’s childhood and the people around play a key role in shaping the beliefs of a person. The family culture and practices help influence the beliefs that include adopting a particular religion. Certain problems may exist when a person has to decide between the values and the actions.
The culture of any country or region refers to the values and goals that are shared by the community or society. Morals are interpreted and influenced by the cultural values. Every culture has its own morals, values and beliefs. For example, there is a difference between the views of Americans and French on whistle-blowing. Companies in America consider it as a part of the business, but the French view it as undermining among the co-workers. Every community views the value or belief of another community in a different way.
There are many factors that influence beliefs and values in a person’s life. Some of the factors are-
Family
Media
Religion and Spirituality
Relating to land and the environment
Language of a person
Government
Gender
There are a number of reasons as to why we need to consider the values and beliefs. The main reason is that the values could guide the life of a person towards noble goals, rather than self-motives, bad habits, emotions and impulses. The values and morals not only guide a person but also motivate and inspire a person. In order to keep high self-esteem, high values are important. It is important to stay honest with you; though it is true that no one in this world live up to the ideals, but the values and beliefs make a person feel good and stay calm. Self-help does not mean to overcome the problems, but it also means to achieve your true potential.
Are the Americans becoming moral these days? Yes, in some ways. Nowadays, more people are volunteering to help the poor and the elderly people. US citizens are reported to pay most of the taxes, but the political conservatives nowadays, are making the people hate the taxes. According to a survey conducted nationwide, 1/3rd of the school going students admitted that they stole something in the last year. One-third of the students admitted that they lie in their resume to get a job. Over 60% of them admitted that they cheat on the exam to get good marks. 50% of the American adults admitted that they used force on the other person for some reason and 25% of people are ready to abandon their families for money or for other reason.
The immoral behaviour of people comes from the external environment. People do immoral things because of revenge. The present environment is not supportive of morality and the society also does not know that what steps should be taken about such conditions. In order to do good actions, the intention to do well should be there. But it is better to avoid the thinking that the intention will only determine the whole morality of an action. Even the noble intention cannot make an action good or bad (Baker). This is the reason why the bombings and killing by the terrorist groups are still considered as a murder only. If a person steals in order to help a poor, it will still be considered as stealing only, regardless of the intention.
20% of the high scholars in US have admitted that they feel pressure to do something immoral or wrong. 90% of the teens do not want to understand the basics of values as they are happy with their own set of values. Nowadays, it is hard to find role models. According to a survey, about half of the American workers have done something wrong or immoral in their work.
Lying has always been an immoral thing. Everyone is born with an internal human dignity. The dignity derives from the truth that humans are rationally unique and capable of taking their own decisions freely. When a person involves in an immoral thing by lying to others, it simply corrupts the most important quality of being a human. Every lie contradicts with the moral value of a person. The lie is also responsible for robbing the others freedom that allows them to think rationally. The immoral thing is difficult to access and it totally opposes the standard of honesty.
Culturally and religiously, the morals are defined by the difference between right and wrong ("Morals Vs. Ethics | Ethicsdefined.Org | Ethics Defined"). The sphere of morality sometimes overlaps the sphere of ethics and this makes the distinctions between the right and wrong more difficult ("Morals Vs. Ethics | Ethicsdefined.Org | Ethics Defined").
Americans are becoming more liberal these days, not only on specific issues but in general as well. This change can be seen not only with young people but the elderly ones as well. The young people have adopted new positions on morals and beliefs and as they grow older, they take new beliefs with them, replacing the older ones when they die. Americans value individuality, time, equality, peace and informality. They are encouraged to set their goals in their childhood itself. They prefer to stay in their privacy and enjoy the time alone. They have a basic idea in their mind that everyone is created equal and thus, everyone has the same rights. They value time a lot and take every step in making the best use of time in their life. They are mostly assertive in nature and they like to sort things face-to-face, without any mediator in-between. They are free to give their opinion to others and they are encouraged to do so from their early childhood.
Over time, Americans have not shifted their views of all the beliefs and moral values. One of the exceptions is the affair between a married men and women. It is still a cultural taboo though some of the other sexual behaviours have changed. One of the reasons for this is that the people have accepted the inevitable now. But it is also true that there are extra-marital affairs among famous people and the behaviour of people towards this has not changed yet. It is still considered as an immoral thing in public view.
One of the largest changes in the view of people can be seen in the gay and lesbian issues. Many high-profile and famous people have been disclosed due to this exposure in the society. The entertainment industry has played a great role in highlighting such people. Some of the governments have also issued laws for gays and lesbians and have even allowed for same-sex marriages.
Despite these changes in the society, around 75% of the Americans think that the moral values and beliefs are getting worse, rather than getting better. Such views of people have remained stable for a long time. Some of the taboo behaviours have been happily accepted by the Americans, but the overall moral behaviour of the culture is considered still in a bad shape.
Old notions of society are changing and this makes the people think that the morals and beliefs are declining. Values are an important part of life and vary from person to person. It is important for a person to know his or her values in order to make the right decision in their life. The values can be love, family, success, fun, adventure, business, health, wealth, intimate relationships, etc. Each of these values has some meaning in everyone’s life and also fit in the life accordingly. Knowing the values and beliefs allows a person to think clearly and confidently. It is necessary to consider the values before moving towards an opportunity.
Parents are the basic source of communicating values to their children by setting an example, they want them to follow in their life. Talking with children about the moral values and beliefs supports the interest of the children. Children must understand the values their parents follow. Children always try to intimate their parents in every step. So it becomes important for the parents to model the values and cultivate respect, honesty and kindness in their children.
The moral values can make the life of a person much better as all the decisions made will always consider the values first. Let’s take an example of a scenario where a person who loves his family and values it a lot has to work for 60 hrs a week. In this scenario, he has to suffer from the stress of the work and the internal conflict as well. This conflict can actually affect the life of a person as this decline the quality of the life. But when a person gets a clear understanding of every value and belief, then it becomes much easier to take decisions in life. Awareness towards values will make a person to easily decide the job he or she wants to pursue, whether or not to accept a promotion, etc. All these situations can greatly affect the way a person works. So it is necessary to understand the values in order to lead a better and peaceful life.
The state of moral values in the view of Americans has not changed much in the past decade. Americans are mostly confused in deciding between the right and wrong values though freedom of speech is one of the top values in them as compared to the rest of the countries of the world. The influence of religion in most parts of America has decreased in the past few years. 10% of the US citizens do not believe in the existence of God and half of them never attended church in their life. But it is also true that religion is still considered an important part of the life by most of the Americans. Half of them think that the economy of US is declining at a fast rate nowadays. Americans are firmly united in their beliefs and values and they think that the economic system is not fair with the weak and the poor people.
As a nation, America is bringing a digital revolution, and ironically, it is becoming a lonelier population.
Works cited
"Morals Vs. Ethics | Ethicsdefined.Org | Ethics Defined". Ethicsdefined.org. N.p., 2012. Web. 19 Mar. 2016.
Baker, Kenneth. "What Makes Human Acts Good Or Bad?". Catholiceducation.org. N.p., 2016. Web. 19 Mar. 2016.
