Category Archives: Thoughts on Social Issues

My opinions and thoughts about current events and topics

Standards – The Assault on Moral Standards

Posted on by Karen Stark
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Standards provide safeguards and guide us in life. Moral standards provide a framework for a peaceful society. The assault on moral standards leaves individuals vulnerable and weakens society.

moral standards

What are standards and why do we need them?

A standard is a set point against which things can be measured. Standards are effective when generally understood and accepted by all and when set by an appropriate authority. Standards within an organization provide order and consistency. They instill confidence in the quality and safety of products, services and personal conduct. Our confidence in leaders is determined by the standards that they live up to.

Moral standards serve similar functions to promote order and safety in society as well as personal well-being and progress. We all will not measure up to standards at all times. We are human. But without standards, we have no idea how far off course we are or whether we are even going in the right direction. Standards serve as a guide to make corrections. We can have a sense of security and peace when we live up to standards.

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Shame Culture has Taken us All Back to Junior High

Posted on by Karen Stark
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By rejecting divinely instituted moral standards in favor of changing opinions and judgement of the group, we are left with the uncertain insecurity and shame culture we experienced as adolescents.

I read an enlightening opinion piece in The New York Times by David Brooks titled “The Shame Culture” (3-15-2016) Rather than quote extensively from it, I will try to summarize a few ideas as I understand them and encourage all to read this article yourself. As often happens to me, at the time I read this I was also reading something else – a novel about High School bullying gone horribly wrong. I recognized the concept of shame culture as basically what we all endured as adolescents – only now more pervasive and disturbing.

SHAME CULTURE AND JUNIOR HIGH

Shame culture is about one’s feeling of being good or bad being connected to acceptance by a group. It is about conforming to the specific rules of the group and meeting their expectations to receive approval. Those who violate rules of conduct or simply do not fit in with expectations or conditions of the group are excluded. In the process they are judged and negatively labeled, leading to the conclusion and resulting feelings that they are bad.

Isn’t this what most of us had to endure in Junior High and High School? The desire to be popular, to have people – the right people – like us leads to sucking up to the elite, hoping for some attention and inclusion in return.

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Weather Panic?

Posted on by Karen Stark
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Do you believe in climate change? That seems to be the question. It is presented as though one must totally accept or reject a neat package as scientific fact. It is often presented as accepting or denying science. It is really a much more complicated issue involving not purely science, but also politics, economics and theology. I have issues with it on various levels.

The Politics of Science

It is hard to accept Climate Change Theory or Global Warming as science, when it is actually part of a larger political package which includes blatant “science denying”in regards to other key issues. This package is promoted by the party which considers itself pro-science and delights in calling others “science deniers”.

I believe in the science of human biology. When a human sperm containing a Y chromosome joins with a female egg and fertilizes it, it creates a new human being. This being has unique DNA differing from both of its parents. Though it spends time gestating inside of a female body, it is not part of that female’s body. It is not a growth or a condition. It is a unique, individual human being.

Science tells us that it has a beating heart and functioning organs. It moves. It grows. It feels pain. All long before it breathes and lives independently. Science also tells us that humans come in two sexes. These are determined by that little Y chromosome. If someone has a Y, they develop what we call male physical characteristics and are male. They start out as baby boys and become men. If someone lacks a Y chromosome, they become a female. (There may be rare biological anomalies, but this is the rule.) Simple as that. Gender is determined by biology – science – not by how someone feels or what they prefer.

So a political ideology which promotes such denials of scientific facts makes me skeptical of what other ideas they promote in the name of science. They in effect say “trust us that this is scientific – but never mind those other scientific facts.”

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Prosperity

Posted on by Karen Stark
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“Inasmuch as they shall keep my commandments they shall prosper in the land.”

In the Book of Mormon we repeatedly hear the admonition given to residents of this continent: “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall prosper in the land.” In that Book we also see this played out in what is commonly known as “the pride cycle”. With righteous living there is prosperity. This is first seen in growth, development, progress, and general contentment without conflict. Gradually it tends to grow into wealth, at least for some. Then the cycle turns as the focus on material wealth creates divisions with the haves seeking more and feeling superior to the have-nots. Eventually it leads to destruction, either through conflicts within or weakening and vulnerability to attacks from enemies. In the Book of Mormon this often cycled back when war and devastation humbled everyone.

It is common for us to equate prosperity with wealth. Recently I heard a comment that prosperity is more about happiness than money. Definitions of prosper include synonyms like succeed, thrive, flourish, and grow in a vigorous way. Wealth may be a by-product of prosperity, but it can be dangerous to think of it as the sole definition or the ultimate goal.

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Appreciating Citizenship

Posted on by Karen Stark
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I just had the privilege of participating in a citizenship ceremony which has caused me to reflect on some things related to some of my Word of the Month posts, including this month’s word which is Privilege.

I attended a Court of Naturalization and witnessed a number of individuals become Citizens of the United States of America. My simple part in the ceremony was leading the singing of the National Anthem, which was certainly not a highlight of the day, especially considering technical difficulties with audio.

The highlight for me was when the new citizens stood and introduced themselves, telling where they had come from and their feelings about this new citizenship. In spite of, or perhaps more accurately because of, the fact that this journey had taken a great deal of desire, time and effort on their part, it was apparent that they did feel that this was a great privilege. They came from an interesting assortment of countries and backgrounds. There was a recognition that there is something special about being “American”, including rights and opportunities unavailable to them in other countries. There were expressions of gratitude for this new citizenship and those who had helped and supported them in their journeys. Some expressed excitement about new opportunities to participate and immediately afterwards registered to vote.

Do we who have been privileged to be born into citizenship appreciate what we have? Do we recognized that among all the inhabitants of this world past and present, we are among the most privileged? Do we appreciate the sacrifice others have made for us to enjoy these privileges?

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Privilege

Posted on by Karen Stark
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When did “privilege” become a dirty word? Is privilege a blessing or a cause of shame? The more I ponder on privilege and the way the word is being used today, the more I realize that the real problem is not privilege at all – it is pride.*

I have heard the word “privilege”, especially “white privilege” being hurled at people as an insult. I have had the phrase “your privilege is showing” thrown at me, as if that somehow meant I have no social conscience. This is not how I remember this word being used.

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Facing and Replacing Fear

Posted on by Karen Stark
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“For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7)

At one point during the past election season as I was reading opposing views of a particularly contentious issue, I made an effort to find some common ground. What I hit on was fear. Both sides were afraid that what might happen would affect them in a negative way. Each side saw that if the other prevailed, that they, or those they cared about, would be seriously hurt. They each focused on their own fears without seeing that the other side was just as fearful, but of a different outcome that could have just as detrimental an affect on them. The arguments of each side were more to convince the other that the fears of their particular group were somehow more legitimate or serious, especially if that group could be seen as victims.

My hope in seeking a common ground was to find some principle upon which both sides could unite – something they could feel they had in common. If both sides could see that they really feared the same basic things – and desired the same things – you would think that they might feel some common concern. We might hope that fear could unite opposing sides out of some sense of compassion, but the reality is much scarier.

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A Good Person

Posted on by Karen Stark
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We often hear someone comment about another being a “good person”. Sometimes this is said in spite of evidence that this person may have done something seriously wrong, as if that action was out of character. Other times this is used to eulogize someone by summarizing their life as basically good.

I think the designation of “good person” is often used in the same manner as labeling someone “nice”. I knew someone whose catch-phrase was “Be nice like me”. What I learned from her, however, was that it was totally possible to be “nice” while also being very self-centered and manipulative. The term “nice” seems to me more about being socially acceptable. It includes manners and respect and courtesy, but also conforming to whatever society or a particular group determines is acceptable behavior. It is really about pleasing people so that they will approve of you.

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Understanding

Posted on by Karen Stark
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“And with all thy getting get understanding” (Proverbs 4:7)

I have tried to ask questions with a sincere intent to understand other people’s perspective and reasoning on issues. I have generally been disappointed by the answers I have received, especially from liberals. In response, I have received slogans, sound bites, quotes, memes, twitter hashtags, or given a link to some article by a leftist “expert” or commentator. But I rarely receive any real explanation of that person’s own understanding of a position and the reasoning behind their personal beliefs. I have also not seen much in the way of attempting to understand an opposing position – particularly ones that I have voiced. I have received condescending comments that imply that I don’t understand the facts, that I have been misled or have been listening to false ideas, but no indication that those commenting have even read or listened to arguments from the other side with anything resembling an open mind. I am sure that this happens from both sides, but I have noticed a more “haughty” attitude from liberals and a tendency for them to point out that the religious accept what they are told without question, though they seem to be doing the same thing in echoing standard liberal positions without explanation. The questioning I have received when I have voiced an opinion has felt like an attempt to tear down my beliefs or imply that I am stupid or uninformed, rather than any desire to gain an understanding of how I arrived to my conclusions.

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Doing What is Right

Posted on by Karen Stark
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In order to do what is right, there must be standards which we can choose to follow because we believe they are right.

I read a Facebook post with this quote from Timber Hawkeye’s “Faithfully Religionless” (FB told me a friend liked this – it was not on a Page I follow):

“I’m not against religion, I just don’t believe we need it in order to be ethical, especially since morality means doing what is right regardless of what you are told, and religion is about doing what you’re told regardless of what is right.”

My first thought was “How can you possibly know you are doing what is right?” In order to do what is right – or even to know what is right, moral, or ethical – there must be standards. One important role of religion through the ages has been to provide firm, set standards of right and wrong. The source of these standards is believed to be divine and always right – the source of absolute truth.

Rather than blindly doing what a religion says to do as the non-religious claim, the religious are actually making a conscious choice to be obedient to the standards of right and wrong that they believe have come from a divine source. They are really doing what is right, regardless of what the secular world is telling them. This is morality.

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