I visited http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/conscience to learn that conscience is defined as:
1. the inner sense of what is right or wrong in one’s conduct or
1. the inner sense of what is right or wrong in one’s conduct or
motives, impelling one toward right action: to follow the dictates
of conscience.
2. the complex of ethical and moral principles that controls or
2. the complex of ethical and moral principles that controls or
inhibits the actions or thoughts of an individual.
It amazes me how seemingly simple decisions can lead to disastrous results because the decisions were made due to the absence of conscience. Enron and Arthur & Andersen are two of the more well known corporate examples whether so called ‘simple’ decisions made by the leader/s led to disastrous results; the leader/s decided that it was ‘acceptable’ to tell a ‘white lie’ as everyone was doing it. They justified their actions by saying that “my conscience is clear”. These are two of the well known incidents – what about those that are not known?
The terrorist attack on World Trade Centre in New York on September 11, 2001 will remain on my mind till the day I migrate from this world. I have always wondered how did the terrorists who piloted the planes got over their conscience; to commit suicide is one thing but to go to extreme lengths (learning to pilot a plane, coordinating attacks and hijacking several commercial planes simultaneously to commit mass suicide) is another thing altogether. This led me to think, is it possible for us to adjust our ‘conscience’? If conscience is about what is right or wrong, and since right or wrong can always be re-defined, it means that it is possible to tamper with our conscience. I came to realize that my conscience is being tampered with.
With the media focusing on the negative aspects of human actions (rape, robbery, murder, arson, white collar crimes, kidnapping, terrorist attacks, hijacking, rampant corruption etc), I come to realize that I am becoming more tolerant of such reports. I remember when I was learning martial arts many years ago, the first hit was the most painful. But the more hits I took, the less painful it was for me. Similarly, with the media emphasizing on the negativity, I find it that it is no coincidence that the rate of wrong doing keeps on increasing because everyone else’s conscience is numbed with the negativity.
Honestly speaking, I am sick and tired with all the wrongdoings taking place on this planet due to individuals in power who decided seemingly simple decisions that led to disastrous results. The funny thing about all these seemingly simple decisions; it was made with a clear conscience. Because of the higher rate of wrong doings, I conclude that our conscience is highly adaptable. Unlike birds, spiders or caterpillars, humans do not have the innate ability to know how to be a human. Birds know how to build a nest, spiders know how to weave spider webs and caterpillars know how to make cocoons without being taught.
What I am suggesting is that it is possible to realign our definition of right and wrong thus it is possible to redefine our conscience. That is the beauty and dangerous part of it: it is beautiful because we can learn how to make this world a better place (if you are in the media, emphasize on positivity instead of negativity). It is dangerous because some megalomaniac can utilize this fact to brainwash an army of soldiers to do his bidding.
While I agree that it is important to have freedom of press, perhaps we should consider implementing media with conscience?
It amazes me how seemingly simple decisions can lead to disastrous results because the decisions were made due to the absence of conscience. Enron and Arthur & Andersen are two of the more well known corporate examples whether so called ‘simple’ decisions made by the leader/s led to disastrous results; the leader/s decided that it was ‘acceptable’ to tell a ‘white lie’ as everyone was doing it. They justified their actions by saying that “my conscience is clear”. These are two of the well known incidents – what about those that are not known?
The terrorist attack on World Trade Centre in New York on September 11, 2001 will remain on my mind till the day I migrate from this world. I have always wondered how did the terrorists who piloted the planes got over their conscience; to commit suicide is one thing but to go to extreme lengths (learning to pilot a plane, coordinating attacks and hijacking several commercial planes simultaneously to commit mass suicide) is another thing altogether. This led me to think, is it possible for us to adjust our ‘conscience’? If conscience is about what is right or wrong, and since right or wrong can always be re-defined, it means that it is possible to tamper with our conscience. I came to realize that my conscience is being tampered with.
With the media focusing on the negative aspects of human actions (rape, robbery, murder, arson, white collar crimes, kidnapping, terrorist attacks, hijacking, rampant corruption etc), I come to realize that I am becoming more tolerant of such reports. I remember when I was learning martial arts many years ago, the first hit was the most painful. But the more hits I took, the less painful it was for me. Similarly, with the media emphasizing on the negativity, I find it that it is no coincidence that the rate of wrong doing keeps on increasing because everyone else’s conscience is numbed with the negativity.
Honestly speaking, I am sick and tired with all the wrongdoings taking place on this planet due to individuals in power who decided seemingly simple decisions that led to disastrous results. The funny thing about all these seemingly simple decisions; it was made with a clear conscience. Because of the higher rate of wrong doings, I conclude that our conscience is highly adaptable. Unlike birds, spiders or caterpillars, humans do not have the innate ability to know how to be a human. Birds know how to build a nest, spiders know how to weave spider webs and caterpillars know how to make cocoons without being taught.
What I am suggesting is that it is possible to realign our definition of right and wrong thus it is possible to redefine our conscience. That is the beauty and dangerous part of it: it is beautiful because we can learn how to make this world a better place (if you are in the media, emphasize on positivity instead of negativity). It is dangerous because some megalomaniac can utilize this fact to brainwash an army of soldiers to do his bidding.
While I agree that it is important to have freedom of press, perhaps we should consider implementing media with conscience?
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