To be conscious is merely to be alive. To have a conscience is to exceed the bar of just being. Having the will in life to be positive comes from ethical and moral experiences, intuitions, and learning that help guide a person's thoughts and actions. This, in short, is the very essence of what we call our "conscience"; our inner guidance from our intuitive and learned being.
Our conscience rules who we are when we get out of bed in the morning. A strong conscience breeds good choices, educated acts, consideration of others, and the ability to acknowledge that there is more to this life than we see before our eyes. A weak conscience leads to immoral acts, bad choices, a lack of respect for life, and a lack for admiration for one's self.
The Examination of Self
One of our biggest fears as children God is looking in the mirror through our media-stained clothes and sex-driven, sometimes immorally inclined bodies and seeing who we really are. The very definition of being mortal is to be imperfect, unclean, oblivious, and ignorant to some degree. We, in general, don't want to admit to our mistakes and wrongdoings, so we often neglect our conscience's screams for attention. This, in turn, diverts us from conscience thought, the very foundation of our conscious mind.
In today's America, we as youth struggle with being attentive to our conscience. The result is a generation of followers. The mass media plays a sick game of follow the leader, where women and minorities are led to reverse the work of our ancestral activists, who gave their minds, hearts, and sometimes their lives to raise the status of the very same groups.
The remaining group, the white male, is split into social groups. Some follow the ways of “Black America”. Others become depressed to fit in with the Emo and Gothic crowds. I'm speaking in VERY general terms, of course, but is this not what we see in front of our faces?
Suffering from Moral Blindness
It has become acceptable for the youth of America to fall into this morally blind pit of emptiness. According to www.extension.umn.edu , 39% of teenagers suffer from depression and severe stress. This comes from a sense of overwhelming emptiness and lack of feeling of importance. Stress and depression lead to a lack of respect for life, and as stated before, a strong consciousness leads to profound respect for life.
The Family and it's Role in Moral Blindness
Today's family values have been contorted. Working parents lack attentiveness to their children, leading to an unaffectionate household. A high divorce rate obliterates the sense of family, and often leaves a child feeling unloved, uncontrolled, and unimportant. A lack of affection between couples leads to unstable households and various forms of abuse, including physical, sexual, and emotional torment. The result is a child left with nothing but material possessions and loneliness.
Often called "spoiled", American children, in comparison to other countries, have everything and nothing. Whereas a good portion of Americans live fairly comfortable, and above their means, one in every 1,000 American teenagers is expected to commit suicide.
Conclusion
The importance of a sound conscience has dwindled. Overall, we've seen the value of good judgment decreasing over a period of time. Fortunately, this can be changed. Men and woman have been striving in the fields of behavioral psychology and other fields to help better the consciences of our youth. Although the situation is sometimes grim, there is hope
