30. Moral Implications of Public Policy

A. Many politicians are completely insensitive to voters’ moral and religious views on controversial public policy matters. Even though a large percentage of the population regards embryonic stem cell research as morally objectionable, some politicians cavalierly insist on publicly funding research into the possible health benefits of stem cells by studying embryonic stem cells and not merely adult stem cells. Another example of this callous disregard is when policy makers ask people who view most abortions as the immoral killing of a human embryo to pay for the abortions of other women. Free distribution of condoms in schools and keeping parents uninformed about their child’s initiated interactions with health providers are two other examples of politicians ignoring the rights of people to have their religious and moral beliefs taken into account in public policy matters.

B. Public policy has to be based on rational considerations and be informed by the best scientific evidence relevant to the policy at hand. Moral considerations have a role to play in certain policy discussions, but narrow religious views should not dictate public policy or stand in the way of medical research and progress. The need to provide relief from suffering is too acute to be hampered by extraneous considerations. We cannot allow individuals to determine which public policy they wish to pay for and which to withhold funds from based on their private moral views. We cannot allow some parents to meddle in public school health programs based on personal grounds. Experienced educators and public health officials are well-equipped to safeguard the well-being of students in their care.

31. Acculturation and Assimilation

A. Though our nation has much to be proud of, the dark chapters in our history should be taught just as thoroughly to allow students to learn from the mistakes of the past. Children of school age ought to learn objectively about the good and the bad in our history and reach their own conclusions over time. We also need to recognize that our nation is quite different from how it was centuries ago, as is the world around us. This means that our education system should be much more present- and future-oriented than past-oriented. It is not useful to speak broadly of our nation’s historical or dominant values as it is to understand how race, color, ethnicity, gender, socio-economic background, sexual orientation, etc. help to form each person’s unique worldview. We must fully embrace our pluralism and learn more about each other’s perspectives. Requiring immigrants, especially disadvantaged ones, to learn our language and history while they are struggling to make ends meet is to place an unreasonable burden on them. We are also too quick to pass judgment on other cultures and their practices, imposing our sense of morality on everyone with whom we disagree.

B. Our heritage and values are not guaranteed to survive unless we take active steps to instill them in the next generation and in new immigrants. Our education system must emphasize the study of our history, our founding documents, and our dominant values. Doing so in the right spirit can help foster in children a sense of national pride and patriotism. Our national character will also be in jeopardy if we don’t all speak a common language. Movements to have bilingual education and to offer ballots in foreign languages do more harm than good—immersion in the language of the country yields far better results for society. Recent trends in academia—ethnic studies, race studies, LGBT studies, etc.—tend to go too far in emphasizing what divides us over what unites us. Politicians who instigate class warfare also work to divide us rather than unite us. Beyond showing interest in and respect for various aspects of other cultures, the trend toward multiculturalism blinds us to consequential differences among cultures and to the obvious superiority of some cultures over others.

32. Human Nature

A. Each one of us is born with both good and bad tendencies. As we mature, we develop these tendencies into virtues and vices of character according to the various influences we have in our childhood, the values we adopt over time, the decisions we make in life, and the wisdom we acquire with age. Our greatest battle in life should be not with anything outside of us but with our own negative nature—our laziness, lack of self-control, selfishness, greed, anger, etc. Much of our suffering is of our own making, if we are not careful to develop a good character and engage in good, responsible conduct. We must become more self-reliant and take responsibility for ourselves. We should certainly not view ourselves as victims. Those who support victimization narratives of certain groups and individuals make such groups and individuals feel justified in not improving their own condition. We must also acknowledge that while human nature is not fixed, there are distinct differences between various groups of people based on their value systems, temperament, etc. There are inherent psychological differences as well between men and women. Parents who get to raise both boys and girls quickly realize just how many differences there are between males and females which are not socially conditioned but are facts of life.

B. We are all born innocent, pure, and loving. Children of all ages possess considerable wisdom, even if they can’t always express it. Much of our psychological makeup and character are already set by late childhood. Boys and girls have few (if any) inherent psychological differences between them. The more we are loved and accepted as children, the healthier we become as adults. The more struggle and pressure we experience as children, the more we adopt survivalist-type negative thinking as adults. Much of our suffering in life can be traced to factors beyond our control—a difficult childhood, lack of opportunity, lack of adequate medical care, etc. If we acknowledge each other’s physical, emotional, and mental pain, our personal and collective lives will be greatly improved. Most problems that are attributed to ‘bad’ people and their ‘bad’ values can be traced to psychological, sociological, economic, and legal hurdles that stand in the way of a person’s ability to live up to his or her true potential. With compassionate social policies in place, it will take only a few generations before our society could be called a utopia.