Morality

Morality is not popular in the modern world. People don’t like it because it puts a restriction on their instincts to seek pleasure and avoid pain. But following instincts blindly is not wise. Instincts don’t provide lasting happiness. They make people selfish. They destroy peace in society. People will be wise to control their instincts for the good of themselves and society. But instincts are difficult to control as they act through emotions. Being disciplined will work but most people don’t have the will power to discipline themselves. The answer is to make discipline a social norm. When made a norm, people will follow it to blend into society. Their need to be part of society will give them strength to discipline themselves. Morality is a social norm for discipline. It sets rules to live a disciplined life. Various religions and cultures around the world created morality to provide discipline to their people. It was made a norm through leadership. Leaders lived the morality they taught. People accepted it by following their leaders. They safeguarded it after seeing its benefits for themselves and for society. They maintained it for generations. But new generations question it as they lived only in times of peace. They see morality as oppression and stop practising it.