Virtue and trust - Essay Example

VIRTUE AND TRUST By Location Virtue and trust Introduction The entertainment media has continuously brought out the working class as uncouth, unnurtured, unlettered, undesirable and less moral than the middle and upper classes in the society. This has continually been depicted in the different films, movies and television series that have been continuously produced in the last few years. Writers Maasik Sonia and Solomon Jack in their article on class and virtue clearly bring out this aspect as depicted in several films and TV series that they use as examples. This article uses the movie, Treasure Island (1934, `1950, 1972) to open up the rot in the society. It explains how two different parties seeking a similar goal are criticized based on their social status. The society has over the years embraced the need for people to seek monetary comfort from material belongings. However, the morality of the same society comes into question when this is taken as a virtue amongst the rich yet it is condemned amongst the working class. This clear hypocrisy and discrimination is what creates the lack of clarity that exists when the virtue of a person is in question. The article has also set a basis that seeks to explain how individuals have been seen to look down upon people who are in an existence that, they, themselves were in sometimes back. A good example of this is in cases where people who were once poor and turned rich due to luck look down upon those who are poor. The article has brought up a similar case where a prostitute did not want to be treated as one since she had been treated differently and provided with material wealth. Such cases are commonly experienced in the society and they seem to be a lot in the rising. It is a case of war between opinion and virtue. This war can only come to an end when the society lays down correct principles and guidelines intended at creating a moral balance in the society. Morality is highly dependent on principled movement. It is driven by the urge to do right under whatever circumstance that one may be placed. Enthymeme Virtue is not dependable on economic status because it is developed from a person’s social upbringing and cannot be bought by material wealth. Topic Question Is it true that the working class lack virtue due to their physical appearance and outward presentation? Is it true that speech, grooming and association define virtue? Topic Sentences Entertainment media have in most cases brought out morality as an element that is dependent on social status. It has brought out the society as one full of favourism and one that is inclined towards benefiting only those living within the high social classes. However, it is quite incorrect to classify people as more or less moral based on their economic statuses. It places the society in an awkward position of everyone wanting to exist in the middle class and above zones so as to be acceptable in the society. It creates an imbalance thereby creating a general negative stereotype that places the working class in a situation forcing them to struggle to move to upper economic classes. As such, it is quite unfortunate that this stereotype has taken precedence in the entertainment media that is quite common with most of people in this world. There are substantial reasons supporting the fact that virtue is not much dependable on the economic class that one belongs in. Some of these reasons are discussed herein. Reason Movie producers have in their production processes lightened up the much needed light in the society with respect to how the world observes morality. Morality is a personality theme meaning that it cannot be a society attribute but more of a personal conviction. It is the path of right followed by individuals. It is defined by an existence and is independent of social status. As such, it cannot be acquired by use of money or wealth. The article brings into light the issue of personal acceptance as it uses the movie “Pretty Woman” to illuminate how moral it is to accept one’s state of existence and to strive to develop virtue as pertaining to the specific environment. This has been observed as a big problem facing the society with people wanting to be treated more “importantly” when their economic statuses escalates. Such people would be occasionally observed to mistreat those who work for them forgetting that they were once in a similar situation. This can be taken as moral decay as virtue involves treating those around one in a way that he/she would also want to be treated if they were the ones in the picture. The society has continually placed biased laws upon its members leading to an imbalance of justice. It is quite clear that those who are considered of higher classes are accepted from certain rules and laws and the working class end up suffering for actions that the rich would not have suffered for. A good example is in the movie “The A-Team” where full judgment is placed on the immediate actors, who happen to be the working class yet those who they work for are not victimized. Most illegal movements are headed by the rich who do not get their hands dirty meaning that they pay people at the bottom of the food chain to execute their dirty dealings on their behalf. They are viewed as righteous and clean. They are given angelic treatment and those who work for them are cast into hell-like existence due to the effects of these activities. It would be in order for the society to investigate the strings and lines of action to determine the actual state of affairs before conclusions are made about any specific habits. They lack morals yet they have access to all the money that they need. This also indicates that their economic status cannot Long John Silver and his gang in the “Treasure Island” are brought out as thieves for being ambitious, Strategic and focused on getting the treasure hidden in the island. This is because they are simple working crew in the ship owned by a squire who is also after the same treasure. It would be correct to suggest that the squire is less moral if compared to Long John and his gang because he has enough money to keep him a lifetime yet he sets out in search of more. Long John and his crew are said to be out to steal the treasure yet it belongs to no one. That doesn’t make them immoral or in that case, of lesser virtue than the squire. Therefore, it is wrong for the theme of the movie to bring them out so. Instead, it should have been the squire and his men being illuminated with the light of virtue. Both groups are on a journey towards looking for treasure that belongs to neither of them, but turns out to be a worthy quest. Both are justified in their actions, but the movie justifies the squire and condemns Long John and his Gang. Furthermore, Long John and his gang are more justified to go treasure hunting because they are in need of the money to improve their lives. The squire can live quite a comfortable life without this treasure and therefore has no other reason for sailing to this island apart from seeking adventure and fun and shouldn’t therefore antagonize himself with Long John and his gang Unstated Assumptions Physical appearance has been continually used as a datum for expression of character and morality. Speech has also been used for determination of suitability of persons for morality qualification. It has been assumed that if someone is well off in terms of language abilities and physical presentability, then they are generally acceptable in the eyes of mankind. These assumptions have continually derailed the development of moral standards in the society. They have also misled the young since precedencies are mostly set by those with advanced ages. These assumptions are still in existence in this time of age. On similar grounds, the world has placed mankind on the spot by misguiding the principles of judgment. This has taken the wrong toll and continually damages the smallest of hopes left of ever defining morality in the manner that is expected of it. These assumptions are responsible for the state of affairs in the entertainment media as they generally depict of what exists on actual ground. Claims It normally escapes our books of thoughts that opinions vary from person to person. On a similar note, it would be correct to state that the standards and values of morality are clearly defined and quite clear. As such, it is the responsibility of everyone to spread the right message/information about what is expected of human behavior. It is the role of the media to participate in all processes of enlightenment and should therefore not fall prey to the lack of clarity of principles that may take toll in the society. The entertainment media, through film and movie production, have in the years created an ambiguity over what morality really is. This ambiguity has positioned itself in a manner that it blocks the world from the view of the actual existence thus creating a non-desirable stereotype. This stereotype creates a confusion that lays-off the actual meaning of morality and virtue as would be expected in any given societal setting. There has been a widespread confusion between etiquette and morality in the world. This confusion leads to unjustified judgment of character that is continually becoming a part of the society. Whereas etiquette is a line of social expectations that are primarily set to please those in one’s circles, morality may not at all times please everyone. A person’s ability to use utensils correctly and to walk in a certain manner is widely etiquette and is based on individual acceptance. Some levels of morality are quite difficult to cope with and may, in most cases, not be pleasing to everyone as etiquette would. Morality is a firm stand on ethical standards that are not much dwelt on my etiquette. This same confusion has consequently led to the growth of a misconception that morality and ethics are synonymous. It will, thus, be necessary for the society to present these two on different platforms to lay-out a defined difference of the two. It is only through that approach that there will be rest on this issue of Morality Virtue is the act of behaving is an acceptable manner that raises no question from any side of the economical table that we look at it. It would be correct to note that in one single society, a person with an acceptable kind of personality is viewed so by both the working class and by the higher classes. It brings in a twofold aspect of one doing what he/she deems correct and then the society accepting his mode of behavior since it lies within their definition of virtue. It will be correct to note that a child with a wanting character will be observed so in his/her society and both the house help and the extremely rich, next door neighbor will view it so. This moral balance in the society exists at a level that ensures it will clearly define vices and separate them from the virtues of the world. It has been continually observed that a person’s character is shaped by his environment and his lines of interaction. This has also been proven through scientific means and stands as a fact. There are those brought up in violent settings and in their societies, it is quite acceptable to be violent. However, those brought up in peaceful environment may grow up to be peaceful since it is the acceptable mode of behavior in their environment. It would be correct to also note that economic status plays a big role in this character development process. Children growing up in rich environments may have the much needed resources in character grooming. They grow up knowing their utensils right, knowing which dress to wear to which occasion and will also have the acceptance speech due to their interaction with well trained teachers and tutors who shape their language as desired. The working class may not fully enjoy these resources and as such, may grow up without these privileges. At the same time, they may be groomed well by moral parents and thus grow up with the desirable line of behavior. This refutes the notion that class means moral as these are two different and unlinked entities. A person may have very high morals while they exist in the lowest class in any given society. Counter Argument Morality based theories formed in the 19th and 20th centuries place their line of reason fully on what action someone decides to pick. It is quite free of economic factors and visual aspects. They seek to answer the question, which actions should one choose? Virtue-based ethical theories are however different. They seem to place little emphasis on societal rules that define proper actions and instead channel focusing on the development of good traits such as generosity and kindness. Consequently, these traits will be responsible for the person’s action in the near/far future. Kindness, generosity and patience are not dependent on the economic status of a person. There are rich people who are very kind and generous while there also exists individuals within the same social class that have different virtues. There are also people within the working class who are very kind, patient and generous. This is an observation that declares null any relationship between economic status and morality. There has been little emphasis placed on the study of virtue and its tendencies as many tend to shy away from this because it is a wide area of study. It is therefore quite difficult to define the societal tendencies since the study on virtue has been sidelined for quite a while now. Immanuel Kant’s basic theory of morals claims that everyone is obliged to act in a way that will respect the dignity and moral rights of everyone that exists around him. However, ethics are not fully laid on moral principles. Ethical existence is aided by traditional existence and acceptable laws too. For instance, a government may legalize prostitution yet the same is criticized by the laws of morality hence influencing some sort of conflict. As such, one is not justified to discriminate against those in support of the same as each individual has an entitlement to their own opinion. The factions of the society have to accommodate each other as these are some of the key influencers to the break of conflict. Refutations There are certain practices embraced by mankind that have led to a huge characterization problem that is encroaching largely into their existence. This problem is one that blurs morality and creates ambiguity of what is expected of people in the society. Virtues are not solely actions but are a set of values that should be in constant display to the society. They are also intentions, attitudes and dispositions that can define an individual within a group. The society judges people mostly based on the outcomes of their actions and not on the contributions that they make to society. However, the intentions that people had are never looked into. The attitudes are never looked into with questions and analysis. Our attitudes form part of our character and can be used to explain tendencies. It will also be correct to state that the environment of growth contributes greatly to a person’s character and actions. These same actions are used to define morality. It will therefore be correct to refute the fact that character is dependent on economic class as most entertainment media depict. This is because your bank account does not define who you are. Furthermore, most of the wrongs done at the lower levels in the society are brain-produced by those high there in the societal ranks. They use the working class to actualize their ideas, plans and actions without getting their hands dirty. As such, they should take responsibility over these actions because consequentialism will judge them guilty of these actions. Some of the working class only involve themselves in some of the wrong deeds to put food on their tables. If consequentialism was to be used as a basis for judgement, all actions would be justified by the results. The consequences of a person’s actions would define their course and would be used to judge the moral correctness of these actions. As a result, a thief stealing to feed his family would be taken to be morally upright because though the action is wrong, it is aimed at a morally right course. Conclusion In conclusion, it would be wholesomely correct to in-justify the entertainment media’s approach of presenting the working class as unlettered, undesirable and less moral. Through this paper, it has been proven that one’s character is independent of his/her economic status. It has also been proven that physical appearance and visual presentation does not define virtue. Virtue is defined by intent, attitude and plans that lead towards one’s action. The paper supports the fact that a person’s actions are as a result of the levels of morals they have. Furthermore, the paper proves that virtue is dependent on a person’s upbringing in which case economic class is not placed into consideration. Virtues are observable habits and are viewed based on the universal beliefs of how a person should behave. It is quite correct to look at virtue as a genesis of well-being that is less dependent on the environment of existence. It is the acceptance of right actions and correction of the wrong tendencies. It is the co-existence of people in the society and recognition of good virtues regardless of a person’s social class. It is the reward of good and adjustment of the wrong. Work cited , Sonia and Solomon, Jack. Signs of Life in the U.S.A.: Readings on Popular Culture for Writers, , eds. (Boston: Bedford Books, 1994) pp. 283-286. Read More