After reading Cormac McCarthy’s novel, The Road, I’ve been questioning what it would take for me to sacrifice my moral values. In the book, a father and his son struggle through a post apocalyptic world filled with bandits and cannibals, where the only colors are black and grey. In order to keep his son alive, the father shows no mercy to any people whom the couple encounters.
image from sfsite.com
If I were in an identical situation, I am not sure if I could disregard others’ lives in order to preserve the well-being of a loved one. The ethical standing on this is highly debated, and as much as I’ve racked my brain, I do not believe I could give an honest answer about what my reaction would be to such a ridiculous situation because I can hardly even fathom the kind of emotional trauma I would be suffering.
I’m not sure if I could justify forcing others to starve to death in order to feed someone whom I care for. How could I flippantly place my needs and wants above the lives of those around me? However, I also could never imagine apathetically leaving someone who I loved to die a cruel and painful death.I would like to think that I would fight to the death to prevent that.
image from miamiherald.typepad.com
Looking from the boy’s perspective, if I was causing someone to break their moral codes in an attempt to save me, I believe that I would prefer to die than to be the reason that they set aside their beliefs and ideals. To cause someone to rebel against the foundational structures of their soul sounds terrible. Upholding a set of morals is one of the key factors that makes humans truly “human.” There is a question that I feel is important to answer, regardless of whether or not you will be put in any kind of high stakes situation. Are the people you love worth abandoning your humanity?
Eternally In Progress 