Morals – to the conduct or duties of man, ethical, virtuous, discriminating between right and wrong, verified by reason or probability.
We all have them and yet they can vary a lot from person to person. One could consider that they had very good morals and judge others from their own behaviour and beliefs. Yet the next person could also judge on their own morals and have different beliefs.
Our morals guide us throughout life and will usually guide us between what we believe to be right and wrong or appropriate/inappropriate behaviour. They will cause us to act a certain way depending on our own beliefs.
One could judge another person from their behaviour and say that they had no morals, simply because they have judged on the basis of what they would or would not do or say.
It is important to carefully consider your values for several reasons – they guide your life minute by minute towards noble goals. They motivate and inspire you, giving you energy and a zest for living and doing something meaningful. High values and success in meeting those goals are necessary for high esteem.
Doing a good deed for someone can make you proud of yourself – proud that you did something selfless for someone else.
All of us face temptations frequently to be dishonest and almost all of us could improve our moral behaviour in some way. Morality is important for our own well being as well as for the good of others.
“Morals” can be expressed in different ways – these are just a couple
– “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”
– Judaism: “thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself”
Morals vary from country to country, person to person and can reflect your religious beliefs. They dictate how we dress, how much body to bare, our language and terms of speech and our behaviour. Or even what one should be ashamed of. We should respect others and their beliefs, religions, behaviours as we would want people to respect our own.
Each person lives by their own morals. The way we were brought up and what our parents considered “good behaviour” can shape the morals we have today. Religion can also play a big part in some people’s choice in morals.
Would you help an old lady carry her shopping? Would you wait for a friend who was lagging behind? Would you feel compassion for someone who has less than you? All these situations test our morals and we decide what we feel is the right thing to do – or not to do.
We learn morals from watching others. All sorts of people might influence our moral beliefs, and not necessarily just family.
In fact, most of the morals that we learn, we learn by watching people around us. We absorb behavior patterns from teachers and older students. We watch to see what is rewarded and who is punished. We learn on the sports field and through social work. Moral lessons should simply consist of interacting with others and upholding correct values and rewarding good behavior.
Morals in The Tribe
The kids in The Tribe are like any others throughout the world. They can be badly behaved and well behaved. Each has a different personality and a different set of morals.
Amber lives the moral high ground. She believes in equality and freedom and treating others with respect. These are things needed in a good leader
Lex often forgets his morals and is quite happy to be dishonest and bully his way through life. As he got older he softened and perhaps became a little more respectful of others.
Slade was a mixed bag. He wanted to see the people of the city fight for themselves and stand up for what they believed in but he also took advantage of the kindness Ruby showed him.
Java had few morals if any… she cared about power and revenge. She didn’t consider others worthy of anything but her contempt. The only other person in life that she loved was Ram – and that was still mostly about power.
The Guardian had morals based on his belief in the almighty Zoot. He believed that Zoot should have anything he pleased and that the Guardian would provide it. He captured slaves and even the “Divine Child” Brady. But his morals were not for the good of everyone.
May was used to thinking and living only for herself. She betrayed the Mallrats many times. But after some soul searching and learning good morals from Salene she came to see that good morals could get her further in the long run.