Harming - Persuasion

In a situation where one person is being harmed and the other is doing the harming, I believe that the one harming the other is the one to be most avoided. This, I believe, is only true if the harming is done unjustly. If there is reason for a person to be harmed (for punishment that fits the crime- which is a whole other topic) it should be done. But, in this case I am going to assume that the person is harming the other for unjust motives.
If the person doing the harming does not get caught, it should no matter. The person’s conscious should make them feel guilty enough. You know that feeling – the kind you get when your brain can’t shut off at night and it takes you hours to fall asleep. You know when you did something wrong and when you did something that violated your morals. This alone should be punishment enough if you are a strong believer in your morals. But, if you do not feel guilty, then there is another problem. A person who feels no guilt has revealed the hardness of their character and concern for the well being of others. I feel sorry for the person who lives solely for his or her own benefit. What a lonely life he or she must live. I back this up with evidence from personal experience. During my lunch period my senior year the talk of the table would consist of ‘God bashing’. Many would mock Christianity and recite horrible jokes demeaning my religion. I would like to say that their comments didn’t affect me, but they did. They were harming me emotionally and spiritually. But, I would answer back and explain why I believed what I did and why it was important to me. I wish I could say I touched one of their hearts, but I don’t think I did. But, I would rather be harmed knowing that I am standing up for what I believe is right. Although some days I felt weaker, I came out of the experience much stronger with a better understanding of my own belief system. A more global example can be the Holocaust. Although countless Jews and others were tortured physically, emotionally, and spiritually, they are now know through record of history books and documentaries as heroes. Although the situations in which they were placed resembled those of hell the reputation and respect they acquired after the fact make up for their suffering. Those inflicting the pain of the innocent people now life with eternal damnation by a great majority of the world.
Who doesn’t like to be right? I love to be right and I have a hard time admitting that I am wrong (hopefully I will get a little help with this over the semester). But, I believe that all people should work to posses the skills to discern whether the beliefs we have are true or false rather than wasting time trying to persuade others to agree without beliefs. If a person does not truly belief in a fact or a statement, but rather just accepts its being, this person will not make the effort to convince others of this same belief. I can pursued a large number of people to join Student Council (which I did), but if none of them believe that what they are doing is important, nothing will be accomplished. Also, who wants to be known as the leader who led others down a dark path? Your followers would be lost and hopeless.
But, a common goal among men should be to enrich our own lives as well as those around us, and to do this we must acquire knowledge – as much as humanly possible. This knowledge, of course, can only benefit our society if it is true. Our beliefs help shape our character, and who wants a character built on false beliefs? Would that make you a false person? I support this stance by pointing to the Presidential Election. A large number of people can post signs in their lawn or put a button on their backpack, but without belief in the candidate, this “campaigner” will not have the will or the desire to go and recruit more members. So, for example, if I was a campaign manager I would first want to make sure that I was 100% convinced that my support for the candidate and belief in the candidate’s platform was based off of truth. Then, after knowing the truth of my beliefs, my conviction for the candidate would be so strong, it would take little effort to reveal the intense support to others. Another example of the importance of knowing the truth of your beliefs lies in the Enron scandal. If the countless everyday investors would have known the truth behind the newfound Fortune 500 Company, many would not have lost saving, retirement funds, and salaries. For this example, knowing the truth of the belief would have saved billions of dollars.
I believe that both questions ask a person if morality is an important factor in expressing their character. Most of these scenarios ask you if you think deceiving people is ok. Some people can live with that type of behavior. I cannot. Also, there are no “right” or “wrong” answers, but they invoke a feeling of right and wrong in each person.
OK. Now I am done. I think I wrote a little too much, but I guess that’s not really a bad thing.