The case for moral absolutism

America has been rapidly moving on a downward trajectory into a pit of cultural quicksand when it comes to abandoning our traditional time-honored American values and morality.

Admittedly, those are the words of someone who views his country as in retreat from the long-occupied moral high ground that kept America on a path towards achieving true greatness as a nation.

Today, I worry that we have ceded that ground to the moral relativists who believe that morality is defined by cultural norms, which shift and move generationally and politically and are not subject to the rigidities of one universal moral code, such as that originating from the Ten Commandments, for example. 

I would argue that those who adopt moral relativism as their creed and blueprint are either opportunists, lazy or just plain unprincipled people who will bend with any breeze that would blow riches or power their way.

By denying the existence of any overarching set of values they are supporting a new standard of measurement that can be applied, selectively, and not consistently to the actions of human beings.

In essence, the moral relativists are telling us that their moral codex can be summed up in two words, “it depends.” 

“It depends” is the answer they give when one questions the legitimacy of the moral underpinnings of the behavior or actions of others.

“It depends” depends on what society deems appropriate or acceptable at the time and has little or nothing to do with what was acceptable in times past.

Every new day presents the possibility of changing how society will reward or punish its citizens.

Moral relativism is inextricably linked to individual or subjective relativism meaning that if we object to someone else’s idea of morality we can replace it with our own and be considered equally entitled to act out those ideas or views free from society’s criticism. 

It would seem logical that any society would be living recklessly on the razor’s edge without at least some semblance of a moral codex that would protect its citizens and provide them with guidelines for normal behavior. 

I am not arguing that we in America have reached the stage of “anything goes” as yet, but I am saying that we’re getting close, dangerously close. We see a growing number of people attempt to justify their abusive — sometimes destructive and violent — actions by pointing to similar actions of others as if moral relativism gave them a “two wrongs make a right” card to play any time they feel threatened.

By failing to require a uniform standard of fairness in our intercourse with others and refusing to hold people accountable for their actions or statements, we are creating a void which can be filled by more moral relativism not less.

We are also paving the way for moral equivalency to become the new standard by which actions which are vastly different in their nature, severity or importance are judged to be morally equal.

The United States as a nation is the sum total of its values, all of which have a basic moral foundation which has stood us in good stead for over two centuries.

Fair-minded people are always willing to defend their positions and decisions on both a practical and a moral level.

This willingness to debate and discuss is rooted in our value system which is grounded in a moral precept that every life has value, every man is equal with the same inalienable rights. And on this there can be no moral equivalency nor moral relativity. 

We are entering a period of great social change and of even greater challenges to our way of life in the United States. There are those in our country that are questioning the validity and usefulness of our moral status quo, not only with words and protests, but with acts of civil disobediance and violence.

While we have an obligation to listen to our critics, we must not allow moral turpitude to replace our moral responsibilities that are derived from our Bill of Rights and our Constitution. Finally, we must remember to tap into the knowledge gleaned from our passed struggles and accomplishments and combine it with the timeless wisdom of the holy scriptures that have been our moral sextant for millenia. 

Stephen Helgesen is a retired American diplomat specializing in international trade. He has lived and worked in 30 countries over the course of 25 years under the Reagan, G.H.W. Bush, Clinton, and G.W. Bush administrations. He is the author of fourteen books, seven of them on American politics, and has written more than 1,500 articles on politics, economics, and social trends. He now lives in Denmark and is a frequent political commentator in Danish media. He can be reached at: stephenhelgesen@gmail.com