Moral Obligations

Moral obligations? How important are they? Should you have to bend the rules to develop morally responsible young adults? I can remember an example of my senior year in high school. I got into a fight. It was my first time fighting with anyone, and the last. I didn't start the fight. Another boy, who had been kicked out of other schools before coming to mine, started the fight between us. He would constantly pick on me, make fun of my family, make fun of my friends, when he didn't know any of us. He never had the time to. It was just in his nature to do these sorts of things. Once we fought, the principal called us in and suspended us both from school for the next day. The difference was that the principal put the fight onto his school records, but not mine. Why? Because it was my first and only fight. Because I was the student council vice president. Because I had decent grades. Did the principal break the rules? Yes. The handbook stated that it would go onto our records. Did the principal do the right thing? Yes, because he knew the importance of each and every student he had and the impact they would have in the world. I believe that because of not placing it on my record and having faith in me as a student, helped me become the person I am today.

In the "Hip Deep" text, “Showing My Faith On The Outside” hits home in my case. During my years in university, one of my closest friends wore a hijab. Being a Muslim, I, much like everyone else in the University (which was in the Middle East), understood what the hijab represented. If you weren’t from the region, you learned just to be respectful of the culture. Although I used to drink, which was against my religion, she never thought less of me. We maintained our friendship since day 1. Once graduating from college we both took different roles. Remember the movie “Vice Versa” where the dad and son switch roles? Well, it’s sort of similar. Her and I switched. I gave up the drinking(which I used to do constantly) and decided to shape up my life now that I was “out in the world.” On the opposite end, she decided it was time for her to let go of her religion. She gave up the hijab. She gave up her faith. She started drinking. Dressing differently. Although we were in different countries, it affected myself and our friendship. I couldn’t sit there and pretend to be her friend when I knew that something was wrong. Our friendship ended shortly after we graduated college. Even though I knew who she was on the inside, at the end, I judged her just like some would judge a book by its cover.

At the end of everything, how important is it to be moral? Should someone have to bend the rules in certain cases to make better people in the world? Or should we all abide by the rules placed for each of us.

Depending on the students, you will know what decisions you should make. If the student is worth the risk of bending the rules for in order to create a better morally responsible adult in the world, as Nike says, "Just do it." You will know when to make the right decisions if you yourself are moreally responsible.