Elements of moral literacy in corruption
THE illustrative application of these elements of moral literacy to corruption: “To put these ideas in sharper perspective, let us consider one very grave moral and social problem in the country today: The rampant and large-scale corruption in both public (government) and private (business) sectors.
“Why is there so much corruption in our country? There are many reasons or causes. Among these, we can mention the following: Greed, materialism (manifested in a “get rich quick” mentality on in the penchant for an opulent lifestyle), a distorted sense of “right” and “wrong,” a lack of moral principles and values, and moralethical insensitivity. As a result, we see widespread abuse of power and authority, the “creative” use of one’s knowledge and imagination for immoral purposes or ends, and the proliferation of unethical “deals,” “shortcuts,” and other morally questionable practices.
“What do we see here? A glaring lack of moral scruples or, at least, ethical sensitivity. The inability to engage in upright moral reasoning.The immoral use of the imagination. In short, a serious lack of moral literacy. Indeed, the now proverbial “daang matuwid” cannot be mere rhetoric.
Dr. Tiongco then brings out several important points that need to be clarified.
“Someone who is ‘morally illiterate’ is not necessarily an immoral or intentionally bad person. But he lacks moral sensitivity, is unable to reason properly about moral questions, is unable to put himself in the shoes of others to foresee the impact of his decisions and actions on other people, and is unable to tell what is morally right from what is morally wrong. His situation is the moral equivalent of a colorblind person who is unable to tell or choose the right colors.
“Hence, a morally illiterate person may think, speak, and behave in morally questionable, if not objectionable, ways. He may unwittingly do any or all of these three things: committing immoral deeds himself, cooperating in the immoral deeds of others, and omitting or failing to fulfill grave moral duties.”
“In short, moral literacy matters because its opposite, moral illiteracy, is not only dangerous; it can even be destructive, deadly, or disastrous to oneself and to others.
“Moral illiteracy — or its worse form, moral ignorance — can give rise to moral confusion, disorientation, or blindness. If not addressed in time, moral illiteracy can lead to moral ruin. A morally illiterate person can easily end up living a life of vice and corruption, as well as self-deception. He is likely to end up throwing his life away.”
From the illustration above, we now see more clearly how important this core area of concern is. Unless we address seriously the challenge of moral literacy, with its three elements, we can be talking about core values until we are blue in the face, and we still would not make any headway towards improved governance of our country, and much less towards building the Philippines we all should be dreaming about, together.