Joe Beaty
March 2, 2007
Jr. Morality ‘07
Conscience as power and process
The conscience is the core of the human being. It is the only spot where they are themselves, and where God lives. It hold all of our freedoms, and allows us to make decisions based on what we think will make us happy. It is the thing that helps us make decisions, not disregarding the other parts to the process of reason, but the conscience withholds the information that allows us to make the right choices in life.
A
teenager goes to a party and has to decide whether or not drink there. He uses
the LISTEN method to determine his choice. First he looks at the facts: getting
drunk here will make him more social, livelier (for the most part), and calmer.
Everyone else is drinking, and as long as he watches his consumption level, he
may not get sick and do damage to his body. Next he must imagine the
possibilities: if he does drink too much he could get sick. If he isn’t a good
drunk he could end up saying something stupid that he will regret, get him in
trouble, hurt someone else’s feelings, or possibly get him into a fight. If he
is driving while drunk he could possibly die from a reckless car accident. If
he is in a relationship with a girl he could make the wrong decision in what to
do, maybe have sex, maybe get her pregnant, when all he wanted was a little
fun. When he seeks insight beyond his own it may not be the best. If there is
heavy drinking at the party, of course the other kids will want him to drink,
but you know his mother probably wouldn’t want him to drink at such an age, if
at all. They’re might be a sober person there, possibly a DD, and that person
will advise him not to drink, unless they are cool with it, and know he can get
home safely, or stay the night. If he looks to his religion and the moral
teaching of it, the drinking will be frowned upon, especially at such a young
age. People should practice abstinence and temperance, but even Jesus drank
wine and hung out with prostitutes. Next the guy should turn inward to see how
he feels about drinking. If he knows he can handle his liquor, he’ll be all for
drinking, but if he knows he cannot, he will advise himself to stay away from
the drinks. If you truly believe in God and his saving powers, go ahead and
drink. He and many other gods of various other religions allowed drinking, but
his Catholic religion does not approve of it in