Can morals survive in the present day?

We have no choice in the matter. Morality evolved along with our bodies and will never go away as long as we are the human species.

The morality we are born with is very rudimentary, but we are smart and we learn. Almost before we can walk we discover that you get as good as you give, and that, ladies and gentlemen, is the golden rule. Punch little Bobby and he will punch you back. Be nice to Bobby and he’ll be nice to you and that’s a lot more fun.

A moral life is the only path to happiness and most people know that intuitively.

Our society has a myth that everything is constantly deteriorating. It’s nothing but that, a myth. Morality does shift over time. We grow as a species and learn from the mistakes of the past. That means some things we used to think were immoral, we now ignore or accept. It means that some things that used to be no big deal are now shockingly immoral.

At one time it was not only perfectly moral to lynch someone, but it was also acceptable to have trophy photographs taken and send those grisly testimonies to your friends and family to brag about the exciting weekend you had. Now anyone who participated in such an event would find themselves in prison or on death row.

These days a teenage girl can wear a skin-tight t-shirt that shows her belly button and nobody (almost nobody) thinks it’s a big deal. Two hundred years ago she would have been publicly beaten for such scandalous behavior. Now it is the public beating that would be considered immoral. She can press charges. Her attackers would go to jail.

Most people think morality has something to do with sex. In fact that’s usually the first thing they think of. Stealing comes in a close second. Today stealing is as immoral as ever, but sex? Not so much. Janet Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction caused a few people to get overheated, but for the most part people thought it was funny. They simply didn’t care. Brittany Spears’ forgetfulness about underwear did not cause her to lose her job or cost her popularity. Comedians got a lot of mileage out of it, but that was all. Nobody really cares.

The difference between sex and stealing is that stealing causes harm and sex causes pleasure. You can harm yourself with too much sex or sex with the wrong person or sex without birth control or a condom, but those are issues alongside sex, not issues with sex itself. Thievery always harms the victim. Always. It will always be immoral and that will never change.

Wearing a belly-button t-shirt harms nobody. Hitting someone always harms the victim. Violence toward another will always be immoral. That will never change. It has always been immoral to neglect children. It will always be immoral. It has always been immoral to tell lies. It will always be immoral.

Our society is far from perfect. People ignore morality all the time. Usually they live to regret it. But for the most part our society is more peaceful and safe than it ever has been at any time in history. True morality never changes except to grow.