Describe the one process of moral decision making you have chosen with a concrete and specific instance. This should from Fr. Knapp's article. You can do this from your own real life experience, or from literature or history, or you can make one up. Be clear and complete, showing you know and understand the method and can apply it well.
http://www.happinessonline.org/
A moral decision I have made throughout high school and I continue to make is to not drink alcohol, unlike many of my peers. The pressure to drink is quite constant, although not aggressive in my case, but nevertheless I have made my decision confidantly and with much thought. To dissect my decision, I'll use the OPTION method from Fatehr Knapp's Article. In short, the OPTION method to making a decision is Options, Prayer, Testing, Information, Obligations, and New Options, and finally the decision.
Options Back to my Faith Page
1.) Drink whenever possible - I should not care about alcohol use and drink openly at parties and events. It doesn't matter if I get drunk, pass out, or get sick. If I drink people will see me as a more fun partier, I'll have more fun, and I'll be one of the drinkers and can share stories about drunken escapades. However, despite this option and its motives, there are unavoidable consequences. Such consequences include harming my body, alcoholism, doing worse in school and athletics, losing a reputation as a non-drinker, making decisions under the influence, and possibly getting in trouble with the law, friends, my parents, and school.
2.) Drink occasionally - With this option, I would attempt to monitor my drinking, but I would still drink to get drunk at parties and whatnot. I would not be drinkng as much, and there is less risk to this method than drinking all the time. I still risk bad decisions, alcoholism, health, and trouble, but these risks are not as great as those involved with heavy drinking.
3.) Drink socically - This option is the most conflicting one I've faced with my already made decision not to drink. With social drinking, I would drink at parties and social events, but I would not drink heavy liquor nor would I aim to get drunk. The only motive behind social drinking would be to loosen up and have a good, controlled time. Also, social drinking would be a way to "fit in" without the consequences of drunkenness. However, I would lose the rare reputation as a non-drinker and would still find myself in trouble if my parents found out or I was pulled over and found to have alcohol in my blood. Although these risks are slim if I am careful, they still exist
4.) Don't drink at all - This is the final option that comes to mind about whether or not to drink and unlike the other options, this option proposes that I do not drink at all. The motives for this option are the most overbearing among all the options. First and foremost, my parents have raised me with the knowledge of the consequences of drinking. They never cease to tell me how precious life is and how one dumb mistake can ruin my own life. My parents have seen these consequences firsthand, for my dad saw a friend go to prison for accidentally killing a man in a drunken fight, and my dad nearly died in two drunk driving accidents. My primary motive for not drinking is that I have way too much to lose, and that I don;t need alcohol to have a good time. Second, alcoholism resides on both sides of my family (one of the reasons for my dads drunken driving accidents). I don't want to become an alcoholic in high school nor do I want to increase my risk for the future, for alcoholism has ruined far too many lives. I also almost always end up driving to every party or social event, so I need to keep in mind that I can't drink because I need to drive. I do like having the reputation as a non-drinker, because I believe that it gatehrs respect, especailly from girls I've talked to. I'd fear that drinking would tarnish this reputation which I have worked for. As an athelte, I dedicate many hours per week training, and I feel that alcohol would impede the progress I make. Finally, by not drinking, my parents trust me more and therefore restrict me less, I don't get in much trouble, and I don't have to lie to my parents. There may be some negatives to not drinking, like people thinking I'm a dork, prude, or not fun and also some may allude that I am "missing out". However, I find myself to promptly dismiss these negative consequences because I already have loads of fun and am extremly goofy at parties, and thus I'm not missing out and erase people's negative presuppositons about me. Of the four described options, I believe that the motives and consequences of not drinking greatly outweigh the motives and consequences of drinking. Prayer
Prayer calls me to take my options, motives, and consequences and to present all this collected information to God. Praying will help to guide me and give me moral courage to choose the best decision, the decision that best fits my life and its goals. I have actually prayed for the strength to stand up to peer pressure and have thanked God for giving me such strength to not drink. I believe that my prayers to God have rewarded me with great awareness of my life and my future, and not drinking is the best options that fits my life goals. Basically, not drinking does not have the possibilities to ruin my life that drinking would.
Testing
I need to take each option and evaluate them with my personal and religious values. The option I choose should advance the way I live. Both my parents and God have instilled good values in me, values such as respect, love, and honesty. With these values and others, I respect my parents by abiding by theuir wisdom and not drinking, I respect the drinking law, I leave myself open to love for my family, friends, and God, and I remain true to myself, God, and my parents by not going against my conscience, my parents' wishes, or whatever God has in store for me.
Information
In making my decision, the realization of the related facts is important. The information about alcoholism in the family, my dad's near death druken driving, and teen tragedies involving alcohol are all important bits of information related to alcohol use. Alcohol is the leading factor in teen deaths, and individuals who begin drinking at a younger age are more likely to become alcoholics. There are many staggering statistics about the bad effects of teen drinking, and these satistics further reinforce my views on teen drinking. Click here to read about some of these statistics.
Obligations
When I look into my obligations, I have to see the effect that drinking would have on my current obligations. This step is critical in seeing whether or not the obligations of the option interfere with current and important obligations. My current obligations are God, school, my family, athletics, and my future. In my opinion, drinking alcohol would be an unneccessary and poor influence upon my obligations, and therefore, not dirnking at alll is the best way to keep my positive obligations constant.
New Options
After going through the OPTION method, this final step leads me to find if any new, even better, options arose as I pondered a decision. In this case, no new options presented themselves. I feel that all possible options were already addressed and interpreted, and nothing new arose.
Decision
After going through the OPTION method fully, I was able to make a well-thought and sensible decision. I decided not to drink. Not drinking held no risk, seemed to be in line with my Faith, outweighed the other options, was supported by negative facts about alcohol, and was the only way to not interfere with my obligations.