What I really learned in Morality Class

What I really learned in Morality Class by Aaron Poelker

      The most important idea I learned during this morality course was the key idea to just step and use the tools I have learned in this course and evaluate the situation and to make an informed decision on the matter. I have learned that I am not always making informed decisions within my own life. This course has given me to great methods to help me become more away of what I need to do in my life and they are the OPTION and LISTEN methods. By applying these methods I can better evaluate a tough moral situation and make the best decision about what I need and also could do. Morality is ongoing, it is not just one moment out of the day where you have to make one tough decision, for most of us making moral decisions is an everyday spur of the moment type of thing. We should always look inwards and evaluate what we are trying to accomplish, set straight, or become. I have learned various ways to become a more moral person, whether it is by following Buddha’s eightfold path or becoming more aware of Confucians main concepts of Li, Jen, or Te. I have learned that I am capable of growing into the moral person I am not.
      Through studying the main concepts of morality through the different moral systems of Buddhism, Islam, Confucianism, or even Christianity, I have become more learned in various methods of achieving greater moral awareness. I have also become much more aware of the everyday daily situations that are not just decisions to be made on a whim, but rather moral choices that require turning inward and finding answers within me, like driving. I think before I took this course I was someone who often did not think about morality in my own life, I was someone who tried to rationalize the bad decisions I had made. Now I find myself reflecting upon, rather than rationalizing, the bad decisions I have made in my life. I have also become more aware of the many different paths we can take. We can metaphorically be like a Varnado Simpson and just follow the herd like he did at My Lai or we can be more like a Hugh Thompson Jr. who was willing to stand up and be the voice of civility at a systematic massacre.
      This course has very much helped me to become more aware of the areas in which I need to change in my life with regards to morality. We have studied many cases of bad morality within war, the corporate world, and even the medical world. I think by studying cases of immorality it can only better to help us in our strive to become a more moral person. I have realized that not everyone out in the world even has the tools or knowledge about what to do in a crisis of morality. There are injustices in the world and I have learned that it is my inalienable duty as a Christian who is aware of these injustices to stay back and do nothing about them.
      Morality can often be a “sticky” subject with many different responses to the same question. This course has taught me that just blandly making decisions in my life is not enough and that I should step back and evaluate and make an informed decision. This course has been valuable to me by showing me errors in my way of life up to this point and giving me the tools to never make those errors again. One may ask me now, “am I a moral person?” My response to that would be a simple “no...but I’m getting there.” I feel that we’re all trying to “get there,” and with the tools I have now, getting there will be sooner rather than later.