Philosophy

Nowadays, rampant crimes and violence have emerged in all parts of the world. In the news, people hear and see everyday that the number of both minor and major crimes increase. Deception in its most sophisticated and complicated ways have embedded itself in the system of how the people work in this world. Friendship and loyalty are not part of how people operate in most businesses. Corruption in its worst is tolerated by the most powerful men in position, especially politicians. Hatred and greed have caused humans to become what everyone hates about everyone else. In a world that tolerates these hideous crimes, what virtues do a man need to stand up for what is morally right Today, the most important virtues that a morally good man need to have are love, kindness, justice, honesty, and respect (New living translation Holy Bible 547).

A virtue is a characteristic that leads a person into doing what is morally upright and good. Love is an important virtue because it brings about care and concern toward other people. If a person has love, he is able to do many good things for other people despite the negative things that he witnesses or experiences. Love is what brings about forgiveness in such a way that a person is able to show love and forgiveness even toward an enemy. Love in general is good because it entails everything else that is good. In order for someone to have love, he should believe in the goodness of the people. When a person starts believing in this goodness, he learns how to show love. A person should start by showing love for his family. Everyday, one can show this by a simple smile, hug, or kiss and unknowingly he may be helping someone go through the day.

Kindness is an important virtue because it makes someone do good and show goodness consciously and unconsciously. Kindness is doing good for the benefit of others. Kindness can be shown by simply helping an old man cross the street, or giving alms to the poor. A kind person does not ask for anything in exhange for the act of kindness. Moreover, he does not require that his name be printed in the donations he gives for charitable purposes. A person is able to cultivate this character by doing an act of kindness at least once a day. One can do this by really making an effort to find an opportunity to help someone everyday. Eventually, a person may not realize or remember anymore the acts of kindness he has done in his lifetime but the people he has shown kindness would always remember him for it.

Justice, as a virtue, is important because it makes people become law-abiding citizens not only in terms of judicial laws but also moral and ethical laws. If everyone has this virtue, murder and other crimes will no longer be a problem. As in the bible, Gods ten commandments state all crimes, such as murder, adultery, and theft, punishable by God (New living translation Holy Bible 20). The crimes specifically enumerated in the ten commandments represent the crimes that are also prohibited by our government laws today. A person can hone justice by keeping in mind the laws that govern human life and following these. It may be as simple as following traffic rules or paying taxes, and so on. Moreover, a person practices justice by treating everyone equally and allowing equal rights for all people.

Honesty is what makes a person tell the truth for the sake of good. In addition, honesty is not only seen in words but also in actions. An honest person returns things he does not originally and rightfully possess to its owners. On a larger scale, honesty will lead to the eradication of corruption and deception. This makes honesty a very important trait for a morally good man. In order to have honesty, a person should be honest in his words and actions. Keeping true to ones promises and intentions will also cultivate honesty. Also, a person should not lie or deceive other people for his own benefit. In standing as witness to a judicial case, a person should also avoid omitting parts of a testimony just because he thinks it will make him look bad. Honesty is practiced by always saying the whole truth.

Respect is an important virtue because it makes other people take into account other peoples rights. Respect for humans and life itself will remind a morally good person that he should not carry out actions that will violate the rights of other people. Through respect, there will be lesser conflicts and minsunderstandings that usually lead to fights or wars on a bigger picture. This is because if one respects another persons opinions or beliefs, he will understand the person and just agree to disagree. Murderous crimes will also be lessened if people will respect other peoples right to life. Respect can be cultivated by imagining oneself in other peoples shoes and seeing for oneself if he does not violate the other persons rights by committing a certain act.

There are many ill-doings prevalent in the world today. Thus, it is very important for a morally good man to uphold the virtues of love, kindness, justice, honesty, and respect in order to do good. These virtues address the root causes of evil and peril in the world today. Hence, it is very important to cultivate these character traits by implementing these in everyday life. These virtues can only come from within hence, a person should practice these by not missing an opportunity to show these virtues in his thoughts, words, and actions.