Morality of Society At Large

Two stories.

Tapu Misa:

Some people I know send their children to schools they perceive as having the right values, trusting, I think, that the hefty fees they pay will ensure that their child emerges with the right quotient of virtues.

At King’s College in Otahuhu, for example, they list their values as generosity of spirit, gratitude, honesty, moral courage, respect, spirituality and tolerance.

I particularly like moral courage, the value which seems most lacking in the dealings between the family of James Webster, the 16-year-old who drank himself to death this year, and the parents of the 17-year-old boy who was said to have supplied the bottle of vodka. Among those who refused to talk to the Websters were the 17-year-old’s parents, who drew a legal veil around their son and declined to talk to the grieving family, other than through their lawyer.

Then we have this discussion on the Herald, after yet another case of a crowd watching a victim being beaten and refusing to help.

Before I left New Zealand, some years ago. I was walking down a small town street in the South Island. I saw a group of six drunken males having some sort of altercation with a young lady in a darkened side street. As I approached the group I became fearful for the young ladies safety.

A large gentleman was pushing her into a wall and threatening to kill her. I tried to stop the situation but was soon attacked by the male ringleader of the group. During the melee I managed to get off a single punch while being beaten upon. The punch knocking him out and breaking his jaw.

I was prosecuted for Common Assault and was ultimately found guilty. The girl I had saved refused to testify on my behalf, not wanting “any trouble”.

It has affected every aspect of my life ever since, all job applications were rejected immediately…..

Or this guy…

If you help and manage to “win”, you will end up with a criminal record which will affect the rest of your life. You will immediately lose your employment based on the accusation alone and all future job opportunities will result in rejection. Do you remember circling no on the ‘Have you ever been convicted of an offence.” question of your job application? Common assault never disappears from your record, its with you for life, like herpes.

Or this guy…

Haylen,
I’m not about to go up against a potential murderer for a stranger as I have family that loves and cares about me too. Also, I quite enjoy my life and I’m not willing to give it away in the defense of a stranger.

However, if that potential murderer is being aggressive toward my family and/or close friends, then I am left with little choice and would gladly defend them from the threat.

I’d rather go through life with an assault conviction than watch someone killed knowing I could have done something. (That doesn’t mean I’d intervene in a bar fight or throw my life away unnecessarily.)

Yes, the helped victim might be ungrateful and might turn on me in court. But that is their problem, with their integrity. If we all assumed that no one else had integrity, out society would disintegrate overnight.

As an aside, I note that whenever these cases come up the left cry that this is caused by the selfish policies of the 90′s. Maybe. But surveys have shown that those people who say such consider themselves better people because they support other people doing their charity work for them, through taxation rather than their own private giving. It it really any better to say “it’s not in my interest to help” than “that’s why CYFS get my tax money”?

Maybe the real problem is that both sides of the political spectrum have been pushing their own version of selfishness.

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