Right v. Wrong

Jeremy Bentham

What do you do when everyone tells you, you’re wrong? Depending on your personality, you may either think you are wrong, think you are right and adopt the romantic notion of yourself as an embattled champion of justice or something in between? Is there a message you should be listening to or should you be stalwart in defending the truth? Sounds a little like the situation of the glum standoff which characterizes politics today, but it is also applicable in everyday relationships where another characteristic, or some might say flaw, comes into play, pride. It’s hard to back down from a strongly held belief since it potentially points to the superior intelligence or know- how of an adversary. After all, they better gauged the temperament of the body politic. However, does market research or an ability to assess how others feel form the basis of a moral position? Or does right action require a Kantian categorical imperative, an irrefutable determination of right and wrong which has nothing to do with subjectivity? Isn’t that what inalienable rights are all about? Are not life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to be guaranteed to all, no matter what the backlash is against a few? America has irrefutably given democracy and all her institutions a thumbs down. Even certain members of the Supreme Court adhere to this view. Is an honorable ability to hold to the truth a viable stance and is there such a thing?

Listen to "I Don't Mind" by James Brown and the Famous Flames