Doing the Right Thing
Eric wrote:
>Too many people take the easy (seductive but harmful, in my opinion) route
>by adopting the ethical relativism that says, "What I believe to be right,
>is right for me; You may have a different belief, and so what is right for
>you may be different". It sounds very diplomatic, democratic and tolerant,
>but look deeper at it. It's basically saying that nothing is "right", and
>we can do what ever we want.
Well... I believe the statement that "What is right for me,
may not be right for others". I don't believe nothing is
"right" and we can do anything we want. So.. is there another
way to view "right" and "wrong"?
Is there a right way to live sustainability? A wrong way? Or
many ways? How do we decide? Maybe we can begin by looking
at language and recognizing that it is biased and allows us
to create abstract "right" versus "wrong" states which do
not fit the real world.
We see components of sustainable thinking in various societies
and often we don't recognize the ideas for many years. We
assume our thinking is "right" and can't see outside our
cultural box.
For me, this concept of "right" and "wrong" is part of the box.
We might say "right" is the rule that comes from interpreting
ethics. So, why not focus on the process of translating ethics
into decisions. This avoids some of the problems with rules
that don't fit some cultures or bio regions.
In this area the rain impacts how we mulch. The "right" way
here is different from the desert. You can try to handle this
by having different rules or a general ethic and process.
Sustainable society may consist of ethics driving
educational and decision process's.
I'm pretty sure sustainable paths do not lead to "right"
versus "wrong" thinking and more rules.
----------
Jeff Owens ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) Zone 7, http://www.teleport.com/~kowens
Underground house, solar energy, reduced consumption, no TV
