Blog Archive

Friday, November 2, 2012

It's a Matter of Values

It's the start of a new month which means a new topic for the Christian Writer's Blog Chain. Our topic this month is heirlooms. When I first heard the topic I immediately thought of heirloom tomatoes since I love to cook and try different vegetables. But this isn't a recipe blog. Next I thought of heirlooms as antiques but as I'm not a collector I couldn't imagine writing about them. Feeling at a loss,  I looked up the meaning the word to get some inspiration.

In reading I discovered that an heirloom is anything of value that you would like to pass on to the next generation. Now that got me thinking. What better could there be than to pass on good values? In this world of "situational ethics" is there such a thing as moral values? Or is it merely fluid. Do the ends truly justify the means? Or are their moral standards and values?

Awhile back I took a journalism class with your average 18-20 year old students while I was the age of their parents and the course professor. The topic came up as to what the students would consider "ethical" behavior in getting and reporting a story. Whereas I considered doing research and interviews as the important aspects, a number of my fellow students took it further as to what to do to get a story. They had no qualms about breaking into buildings if necessary to steal or at least to copy whatever info they needed to justify their point. Yet they would protest those actions as deplorable if the people whom they were  investigating acted in similar fashion. They concluded the ends they wanted did justify whatever means they took to make their point.

Those were just college students. However that has seeped in the national news media. In this current election the "news" reporters have done speech clips that have been reworked by leaving out words and connecting them to later paragraphs to deliberately misrepresent a candidate. When they are caught in a fact check, it's merely explained as a simple editing error. And we once thought the news media was there to discover the truth? "What is truth?" was a phrase Pilate said.That echoes the beliefs of many today.

Still I believe there are moral absolutes and those are the heirlooms of value I would like to see passed on to the next generation so they continue to be honored.

10 comments:

  1. The Book of Virtues is a good place to start, passing those values onto a new generation!

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  2. good heirloom kick off post
    Pilate looked Truth in the eyes while he said that

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  3. This was a great kick off to the month Chris. It does seem like societies moral meter has fallen a bit. I agree that good values are the most 'valuable' thing we can pass on... I guess this is going to take a lot of prayer!

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  4. What a shock to hear young people say that. One of the foundational responsibilities I believe children's writers have is to help children understand basic core values. It doesn't sound like that generation got what they needed from kid's lit. It's a shame. Thank youf or this post, Christine.

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    1. I guess it depends on what is on your reading list. I'm shocked at what is touted as books that kids should read today.

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  5. heirloom tomatoes...LOL

    Ah, the *fun* of living in a post-modern age. The truth is not what is true, it is what you name it to be. Integrity and other values in Bennett's really good book aren't really *values* at all anymore; they are choices and can be used or not to achieve whatever means you need. Sad.

    Keri Mae

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  6. Loved the positive thought of passing on good morals and values. Excellent Chris!!

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  7. Great post! Sorry I'm just stopping by, but hubby was in the hospital.

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  8. Thanks Chris - those values are the best heirloom we can pass on. Good post.

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  9. Good post and great reminder that we should pass on the best part of ourselves--our good morals.

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