Moral Issues

Our Behavior as the Example

Everyone has their own morals that affect the way they behave. For some it is the law, and for others it is a religious set of morals, such as the Ten Commandments. No matter what people's morals are they must always be careful of how it affects their behavior, because every person is responsible for the example he or she sets for the behavior of others. In today's society, this is true more than ever before. More and more scandals and bad behavior of people of higher class are being exposed to the public through the media. This affects everyone, adults and children. Children are influenced by the way their parents behave. Often people begin to question what is right and what is wrong? The line between right and wrong is constantly being inched over. People don't know what to think now. In earlier times, there was a strict set of moral guidelines. The world doesn't work that way anymore. It is very confusing to the public. What was once considered wrong is now considered okay to the general public.

This issue has mostly resulted from the behavior of the famous or people of high society. Both celebrities and people of important office commit offences, sometimes daily, that affect how people see them. They do things that should be considered wrong, but because they are expected to have higher moral standards, people let it go as being okay. The line has been crossed, and it affects they way others behave. These people that commit these offences don't realize that they have partly ruined the morals of the public. A good example of this is President Clinton. Bill Clinton had an affair with an intern by the name of Monica Lewinsky while he was married. This became public and was followed by a series of questions that couldn't be answered. People thought, "Well if the president did it it must not be that bad." Also, President Nixon was in charge of a national scandal. These two presidents did wrong things without even considering how it would influence everyone else. They are America's examples. They are supposed to be the representation of good behavior so that others will follow their example. When they aren't, right and wrong are fused together as one. It becomes one confused mess of people and their morals. Where are the boundaries that were once plainly set?

Celebrites are a big concern to the public's behavior. Celebrities are the role models of many, especially children. They are idolized and copied. Their actions have some of the biggest influences on our generation, mostly because of the hype created by the media. Their actions are constantly being talked about in the media, and to society's budding youth, this has caused a great problem. They do outrageous things and are often involved in scandal. Their lifestyles themselves are often one big scandal. However, the public desires to be like them. They are thought of as god-like, so what they do must not be wrong. They are famous, so they are always right; they have to be. This is the perception of American citizens. They think it is okay to imitate celebrities from what they wear to the lives they live, because they are of higher class.