When was the last time you judged an act as an immoral act and sentenced someone for being immoral? And when was the last time you questioned why those acts are immoral in the first place? If you can’t answer that question because you have never thought of it, I suggest you start now.
I am fortunate enough to be raised both in the village and the busy city of Kuala Lumpur. I am neither a traditional nor a liberal. Instead I am a questioner. My set of values are based on rationality and comparison and in my pursuit of setting those values, I have learned that most of the times, we grow up with a set of values drilled into us without ever questioning why it was so. And if we don’t question, how do we know we are not wrong?
So let me ask you again. What makes someone immoral?
Surely to understand the meaning of immoral, one must first understand the meaning of moral. Moral is simply principles of right and wrong. Which brings us to the next question of what is right and what is wrong. How does one identify when one is wrong? Of course most of the time it is pretty straight forward. One is usually wrong when one’s decision has a negative consequence towards others without their consent. For example, it is immoral of you to steal or to call names because in both examples, a third party is harmed. Although sometimes this concept can be questioned such as, is animal testing in order to ensure safety of humans immoral (?) and can we ignore the needs of others to ensure the continuity of our family members and friends (?) , the concept is usually applicable and simple.
That being said, now let us look at other things that our society label as immoral. Why is it immoral to work as a prostitute? Why is it immoral to go to parties, make out, drink alcohol, watch porn, show public display of affection and homosexuality immoral? Why is thinking liberally immoral?
If your answer is because it is against traditional values then the next question would be why does going against traditional values make it wrong? Does the above act affect someone tangibly and negatively without their consent? Strangely, no. Smoking does affect other people negatively though but it is somehow accepted in society. Then why is society being biased by labelling some negative things as okay and others as immoral?
Actions such as drinking, going to parties, having safe sex, loving people of the same gender and watching porn is a lifestyle. It is neither moral nor immoral. It may be wrong in the context of religion but religion itself is a choice some people do not conform to. Not practising a religion is also a choice which is neither moral nor immoral. Labelling and discriminating these people though, is immoral.
It is not wrong to disagree with their lifestyle. After all, we all have opinions and choices and these are two very important rights as humans. You don’t have to agree with someone to tolerate them and be nice to them. It will not make you less of a religious person nor will it make you one of them. It will only make you someone of morale. And isn’t that what we all want?
I think the beauty of religion is that it demands people to always be nice to others unless they threaten you or act unfairly towards you. Even then, religion says it is better to forgive. We can advise and preach but we cannot condemn. That is the work of God. So why are there so many people condemning each other due to differences in their lifestyle?
This article was not written to preach or to condemn. Neither was it written to support reckless behaviours and personal decisions. This article was written to stress that an individual's belief system and values should not cloud his or her judgement in drawing the morality line. It's merely here to spark a thought.
Author
Zulaikha Zainal Efendi
I am fortunate enough to be raised both in the village and the busy city of Kuala Lumpur. I am neither a traditional nor a liberal. Instead I am a questioner. My set of values are based on rationality and comparison and in my pursuit of setting those values, I have learned that most of the times, we grow up with a set of values drilled into us without ever questioning why it was so. And if we don’t question, how do we know we are not wrong?
So let me ask you again. What makes someone immoral?
Surely to understand the meaning of immoral, one must first understand the meaning of moral. Moral is simply principles of right and wrong. Which brings us to the next question of what is right and what is wrong. How does one identify when one is wrong? Of course most of the time it is pretty straight forward. One is usually wrong when one’s decision has a negative consequence towards others without their consent. For example, it is immoral of you to steal or to call names because in both examples, a third party is harmed. Although sometimes this concept can be questioned such as, is animal testing in order to ensure safety of humans immoral (?) and can we ignore the needs of others to ensure the continuity of our family members and friends (?) , the concept is usually applicable and simple.
That being said, now let us look at other things that our society label as immoral. Why is it immoral to work as a prostitute? Why is it immoral to go to parties, make out, drink alcohol, watch porn, show public display of affection and homosexuality immoral? Why is thinking liberally immoral?
If your answer is because it is against traditional values then the next question would be why does going against traditional values make it wrong? Does the above act affect someone tangibly and negatively without their consent? Strangely, no. Smoking does affect other people negatively though but it is somehow accepted in society. Then why is society being biased by labelling some negative things as okay and others as immoral?
Actions such as drinking, going to parties, having safe sex, loving people of the same gender and watching porn is a lifestyle. It is neither moral nor immoral. It may be wrong in the context of religion but religion itself is a choice some people do not conform to. Not practising a religion is also a choice which is neither moral nor immoral. Labelling and discriminating these people though, is immoral.
It is not wrong to disagree with their lifestyle. After all, we all have opinions and choices and these are two very important rights as humans. You don’t have to agree with someone to tolerate them and be nice to them. It will not make you less of a religious person nor will it make you one of them. It will only make you someone of morale. And isn’t that what we all want?
I think the beauty of religion is that it demands people to always be nice to others unless they threaten you or act unfairly towards you. Even then, religion says it is better to forgive. We can advise and preach but we cannot condemn. That is the work of God. So why are there so many people condemning each other due to differences in their lifestyle?
This article was not written to preach or to condemn. Neither was it written to support reckless behaviours and personal decisions. This article was written to stress that an individual's belief system and values should not cloud his or her judgement in drawing the morality line. It's merely here to spark a thought.
Author
Zulaikha Zainal Efendi