Tag: Morality

Earth From Artemis: Peaceful or Stormy?

Peaceful Earth

In the midst of all the war-mongering and depressing news, the images of our beautiful Earth sent from the Artemis missions has been such a joy. Yes – we have all seen photographs of Earth before -a fact that we seem to so easily take for granted. A hundred years ago, round Earth was a concept for people, not something with photographic evidence. The fact that the Earth is round may be something that whales and migratory birds know innately, but they have never seen the picture of their home beamed to them showing all the beautiful colors it is made up of. 

Reid Wiseman/NASA – This image or video was catalogued by Johnson Space Center of the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) under Photo ID: art002e000192.

In contrast, I saw a documentary with pictures of the storms on Saturns. The video zoomed into the rings that look so beautiful, and explained the violence that created them in the first place. Jupiter’s storms are bigger than our planet, forever raging, forever swirling. 

Why Saturn is The Scariest Planet (It’s Not Peaceful)

Then, we see Earth – its storms metaphorically Saturnian and Jupiterian thanks to political systems the world over, but peaceful looking otherwise. A reminder for what we need to persevere for, and preserve.

The Demons Within

I remember the son & I chatting about space travel in the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum. We had been there after the Holocaust Museum, and I was feeling philosophical: “How could the very species capable of such cruelty also be capable of discovering exoplanets, and work towards energy conservation initiatives such as solar and hydrogen powered solar systems?”

The son looked thoughtful. “You know – sometimes these things are not just in a species – it is in one person. There was this person called Werner von Braun. He was on the team that built the Saturn 5 spacecraft. He was a Nazi and he was not given punishment for his war crimes if he could do this – help NASA build the spacecraft. Did he feel bad? I don’t know.”

I was intrigued. So, I came home and looked him up. 

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/chasing-moon-wernher-von-braun-and-nazis/

Of course, he tried to distance himself from the Nazis claiming to simply be a scientist who would have worked for anyone willing to let him work on machines and space probes. But it wasn’t so. He was an active member of the SS, and when he made references to the concentration camps, it was in vague terms – so he could feign if not ignorance, at least  only faint knowledge. But this too was wrong. 

His reputation did not exactly come out till after his death when another SS officer decided to pull him down too. 

The Moralities of our Lives

The moralities of our lives are shaped early but constantly being questioned. Most of us lead lives of modest impact, and our ability to act, or the failure thereof, usually has impact on few people. However, in dystopian times, both the desire to act and the restraint from acting can both have disastrous consequences, and are somehow more impactful. 

We are living in strange times- I hope it is not as dire as the ones that led to the World Wars, but the technology and warfare we have at our disposal now makes the impact multifold. 

What will the judgement be when history looks back at this period in American and World History? I can almost hear the professorial tones in the books: “This was the beautiful planet they had. They let it slide and be destroyed …”

This Beautiful Earth

All I can think of is, there is a reason the images of our beautiful Earth are being beamed back to us and are surfacing in our public consciousness at this point in time. It is a reminder that we have a duty to perform. Protect a planet from us. 

Reid Wiseman/NASA – This image or video was catalogued by Johnson Space Center of the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) under Photo ID: art002e000192.

So, what do we say ‘Yes’ to? What do we say ‘No’ to? Finally, how to make it matter? 

Development of Morality & Value Systems

Going back to a high school reunion after 3 decades is nothing short of illuminating. We had planned to meet regularly while leaving school. Then somehow, we all scattered into our various little lanes and holes, only to resurface like eager bunny rabbits after all these years. 

As far as social experiments go, this has to be one of the most interesting. 

Life seems to have been inventive, unique and predictable at the same time in all the ways it presented us with trials and tribulations. As we walked through the hallways of our school – it was curious to see how we fell back into familiar patterns of who we navigate towards. In 3 days time, it seems we fell back to familiar patterns and the intervening decades might not have happened at all. 

This fascinating behavior led to an interesting discussion on the subject and development of morality and values. At what point in time do we actually develop values, and our internal moral compasses?

I was shocked to find out that morality can start to form under the age of 1, and can easily be noticed between the ages of 2-5. Of course, morality and value systems continue to develop in noticeable leaps and bounds – till we are 10 years of age, then as teens shaped by societal and peer pressure, and as adults. But are they largely shaped by our early childhood? If there are any psychologists or anthropologists who have studied this, please let me know your thoughts. I would be interested to know.

Morality & Values

Childhood friends, when met after decades apart, can resurface memories good and bad. It was interesting to see how friendships played out over all these years. Sometimes, geographic proximity helped shape adult bonds. Sometimes, the bonds of friendships survived geographic distances. 

However, when gathered back in such a large group of classmates, it was interesting to note all the ways in which we fell back to familiar patterns in a matter of 3 days. The ones who were friends in school seemed to fall back into their familiar groups, even while a few new friendships were forged. 

A friend and I fell into a stimulating discussion on morality and values. It is obvious that we are drawn to people with values we admire. So, when looking back at our childhood selves, when was the inner moral compass formed? How did we know whether to be attracted to kindness or the lack of it? Were we drawn towards lightness of being and joy?

Could we be trained into ways of coping – I am sure we can. Pavlov’s experiment is proof of that. Our own behavioral patterns formed so early in childhood help shape how we navigate through life. Some of us are conflict avoiders, some conflict seekers, others do not seek conflict, but do not flinch when it comes to them. 

Is there an Inherent Moral Compass

I remember having a subject called Moral Science in primary and elementary school. It was a lovely class if only because the stories were always interesting, but how much did that help shape our inner compass, I wonder. It is true that reading about myths, and relatable struggles help us through our own. Hopefully, for most of us, our inner compass is strong in good times. It becomes tougher in times of stress and strife, and somehow life only makes these situations more and more complex.

Given that some of us had become friends when we were 5 years old, it was curious indeed. A quick google search reveals that moral based behaviors can be observed in children as early as 2 years old. So, is there such a thing as an inherent moral compass, and can we change ourselves enough and embrace growth through our learned experiences quite as much? Which brings us neatly to the nurture vs nature debate, and we could go on all day and all night.

https://www.mentalhealth.com/library/understanding-moral-development#:~:text=Between%20the%20ages%20of%202,when%20they%20break%20the%20rules.

There are values and morals shaped when we begin to question authority as teenagers, and then as adults when we learn a little bit more about all  the shades of grey, character motivations, and the like.

What are your thoughts? 

  • Do you think that our moral choices begin to be shaped in infancy, and if so, can they be changed over time (not just in small increments but in polar ways) 
  • When that young, do we consciously migrate towards value systems that appeal to us, or not?

https://www.betterhelp.com/advice/morality/morality-quotes-to-help-us-better-understand-ourselves/