Essay, Research Paper: Morality

Morality
Morality has been a burning issue in our society. More and more the decision to do the right thing seems to be overshadowed by personal gain. This desire to achieve individual gain causes people that hold high positions in our society to abuse their power. The mistreatment of power, which leads to immorality, can be seen in many aspects of our society.
Many athletes, past and future, have used performance enhancing drugs to become victorious. In the 1988 Olympics, Ben Johnson was stripped of his gold medal after testing positive for steroids. He had failed in his past attempts to beat his rival Carl Lewis. With the use of steroids he not only beat Lewis he also broke the world record. Because this took place at the highest level his drug use was discovered. But what about the competition that does not take place at such prestigious events? Who is to stop someone from using steroids or other performance enhancing drugs? Drug use by athletes will only decline when the states mandate drug testing starting from high school level. By creating this law, drug use might be stopped before it can cause a problem at the professional level.
Another area where morality is on the decline is education. The most current example is the ongoing case of reverse discrimination against the University of Michigan. Jennifer Gratz, one of two plaintiffs in the lawsuit challenging the University of Michigan's affirmative action admissions policy, was denied admission in 1995. Even though she had the credentials to be accepted by U of M, they denied her an admission because she was not a minority. We have been taught the racial discrimination is immoral. But isn t Affirmative Action discriminating against whites and Asians immoral? It is not right to allow admission because of one s race instead of their abilities. It is true that African Americans have been discriminated throughout the centuries but giving them higher priority will only create injustice towards other groups. To accept U of M s affirmative action policy is to accept that skin color has an educational value. That should not be allowed.
In addition to sports and education, morality is also a problem in politics. Throughout the world politicians are looked at as morally corrupted human beings. They also abuse their vast powers. Recently Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak resigned. He resigned because of the growth in the popularity of his opposition, Benjamin Netanyahu. Because of the special rules of Israeli Government a new election will take place in 60 days that only allows members of the parliament to take part in the election. Benjamin Netanyahu is not a member of the parliament. Because the election will take place now, Barak will most likely regain his status as the Prime Minister. Barak is abusing his power to ensure his position even though he has not proven to be a capable Prime Minister. A politician should not be able to use his or her power to ensure their victory in an unfair way and deny the people their vote.
As seen from the above examples, immorality exists in all facets of life. It is difficult to find anyone that makes decisions solely based on what is right regardless of personal benefit. The transition back to strong values and good moral standards needs to start in everyone s own home and mind. Everyone should examine their own faults and try to change them. We need to make the change back for ourselves, and the future. We are caught in a hypnotic downward spiral. The only way to escape is to regain consciousness.