There are certain things engrained in our society which we accept as truth. What is right and wrong is one example of this. We, as a nation, have come to the general consensus of what is acceptable to do and what is not. Kicking a puppy would be an example of something wrong, and helping someone up who fell would be an example of something wrong.
There are, however, many different subcategories within right and wrong, such as morally wrong, socially wrong, etc. Different things that a person or a group of people could do fall into these certain categories. Picking your nose in public is socially wrong, or unacceptable, and spreading a rumour about someone is morally wrong, however pushing a crippled person down the stairs is both morally and socially wrong.
But, when you think about it, there really is no definite parameters for what is right and what is wrong. Everything depends on your geographic location, religion, race, sex and personal belief. In some countries they eat guinea pigs. In America, we consider that gross and wrong because we keep guinea pigs as pets, but the countries that do that have been doing so for so long that they see nothing wrong with it. It's like how we, as Americans, eat a lot of cow. In some cultures the cow is a sacred animal, so they most likely see what we do as wrong, but since most Americans don't see the cow as sacred we see nothing wrong with it.
This thought came to me while I was going to a grocery store and I saw a sign advertising Thanksgiving turkeys. It made me remember a story my friend told me of the year her family raised a turkey and then ate it once Thanksgiving came around. At first I was appalled. I'm a huge animal lover (though, ironically, I'm a huge meat-eater), so the thought of raising a turkey and forming a bond with it only to kill and eat it repulsed me. In response to my disgust my friend told me that it was better than buying one from the grocery store. At least that turkey had a great life before dying, and they know how it was raised. When you go to a grocery store you never know how the farms treat their animals. It makes a lot of sense, but at the same time I don't think I'd be able to raise an animal only to kill and eat it, because I love every creature big and small (except bugs. And arachnids. And water snakes. And eels. Ok, so I'm a hypocrite. Can you blame me? Water snakes are terrifying!) and it would kill me to kill something I raised.
Right and wrong doesn't just go towards meat eating (no duh). During World War II there was a large group of people in Germany, and all over Europe, that supported the execution of Jewish people all because of a smooth talker named Adolf Hitler. Using clever wording in speeches he managed to bring people together and ultimately was the cause of millions of deaths. In his speeches he used clever wording and attempted to put all the blame of World War I on the Jews (completely ridiculous, I know) which got the people excited and fired up, and because they were promised a better Germany they turned a blind eye to all the horrible, unspeakable things that were being done in concentration camps. What we perceive as right and wrong can so easily be flip-flopped given the right circumstances, but in other cases it can take decades.
Fifty years ago, being publicly gay was not ok. It's becoming easier and easier in this day and age for gay individuals to come out of the closet, and even get married to their boyfriends and girlfriends, but a long time ago it was much different. I can't speak from personal experience because I haven't lived through it, but I'm sure if you came out in the 50's your life would be a living Hell. That's just not how things were back then, being gay was not ok, and many people see it as wrong. Now, after many years of education about gays and shows like Glee becoming popular, the nation has changed its views on homosexuals. We've still got a long ways to go, specifically on the marriage front, but it's definitely a lot better than it was before. We have a black president who supports gay marriage and an openly lesbian senator now, for God's sake!
If we were to go back in time and tell our great-grandparents that they would've 1) called us witches or aliens for being able to travel through time, and 2) laughed at us. It's been less that 100 years since women have been able to vote and we already have women in very high positions in the government and society. Go women! Sadly, there are also women (and I use that term sparingly) like Snooki who get in the newspapers just for getting in a bar fight or showing their lady parts in public. Can we please go back to the days of Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor and Audrey Hepburn?
Getting back to the topic at hand, think about what you think is right and wrong. Now think about why. "Because" is not a good enough answer. Most likely it's because most of the rest of the country thinks the same way or because you've learned it from your parents, the media, etc. Right and wrong is a concept that's plagued me since the fourth grade when I decided to become a vegetarian up until present day where I have to decide between Tumblr and homework. Right and wrong is a very abstract concept and I don't believe there's a concrete answer to the question what is right and wrong, because it all depends on opinion.
Have a lovely rest of your week, blogites!
-The Halfblood Princess
