Gonzaga, Stephenie Van Argumentative Essay

Panday, Mariana Yumi “Why Should We Be

Moral?”

According to the article, Glaucon was privileged because he had the chance to climb his

way up the social standards in the wrong way. It shows that you can get away from not having a

moral compass. But this proves that some people have no conscience and are willing to hurt or

step on people. Being immoral does not only cause trouble but also unfair treatment and chaos.

On the other hand, you may do whatever you want if you choose to be immoral and have no

ethics at all. The results for yourself will be great because it is only you who will benefit the

most, but there will always be consequences for such wrongdoings, the latter may be dictated by

the religion or through the social contract.

It is stated in the article that we are bound to be separated into two categories when we

die; the heaven and hell, because of that, some people followed rules written in the bible. But

there are various statements in the bible that we are currently violating. An example of it is the

scripture in the Old Testament, specifically in Leviticus 11:7-8 “And the pig, though it has a

divided hoof, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. You must not eat their meat or touch

their carcasses; they are unclean for you” Hence, it is written that we are not allowed to eat pork.

Does that mean we are immoral? No, because it is a vague scripture and people do not believe in

it. Humans are consuming pork since Before Christ era up until now. If Jesus just made this

scripture clear after His stay on earth, thus, people should avoid eating it from the Anno Domini
era. According to Socrates, if God does not have a good reason for His instructions, the rule or

command would be arbitrary.

To have a cooperative society, the government set laws, rules and regulations that will

maintain peace and order to the country. These rules require being honest and transparent,

although it is not written in the laws, these two are being dictated by our conscience. Also,

having to keep their promises and assurances will make our lives bearable. Social contracts may

also help humans to live accordingly on what we all know bad and good things. According to the

reading, there will always be black sheep in the community whereas these people are called ‘Free

Loaders’. They might be following some rules, but they do not contribute to the community and

they are receiving the same benefits as those who are not freeloaders. It is truly unequal.

Examples of those freeloaders in this Pandemic Crisis in the Philippines are the Pantawid

Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4P’s) beneficiaries. They do not pay tax to the government but they

are the ones being prioritized by the government in this crisis through the Social Amelioration

Program. Also, some of these beneficiaries do not allocate the money that they received from

taxpayers through the government in foods and medicines. It can be seen in the news that some

are using it for their own leisure’ such as cockfights and bingo. Some freeloaders demand more

just like in the news whereas the reporter asked a beneficiary if the amount that they received

will be enough for a month, but the latter answered that eight thousand pesos (Php 8,000) can

only be stretched for a week. Due to this news, many taxpayers especially those who are in the

middle class got mad, unequal and feel unimportant even though that money that was being

disseminated is from their hardships. Without a moral compass, values will meltdown and it will

be difficult for social institutions to function as there are no guidelines to be followed by

everyone. As a result, there will be more criminals, bad people that inflict chaos and pain. We

would not be considered as a functioning society.