Morals or Friends?

After an inexcusable hiatus, I'm back blogging. Happy New Year!

A lot of times, one is faced with choosing whether to support a friend or screw it and choose the right moral path. And it can be a horrible fork in the road to face. But thinking about it, I came to realize that my values were only mine. But people are with everyone. Unless such a value isn't so important, I'd take the friend path. Sometimes friends and values are on the same side, no problems.

Today, I might choose the 'right path', and piss off a friend. But later tomorrow, no value is going to stand up for me. I'll have only my values...pretty lonely if you ask me.

But morality is really important. Noam Chomsky says,

... if we adopt the principle of universality: if an action is right
(or wrong) for others, it is right (or wrong) for us. Those who do not
rise to the minimal moral level of applying to themselves the standards
they apply to others -- more stringent ones, in fact -- plainly cannot
be taken seriously when they speak of appropriateness of response; or
of right and wrong, good and evil.

That means one who doesn't have certain standards are just not trustworthy. I'm not saying abandon all ethical values. Then even your friends won't believe you!

Now the other angle is when is it right to lie or steal? What moral level gives us such rights? That's such a situational thing with so many factors in play that a definite answer is really tough. Everyone loves the Robin Hood concept, maybe breaking a few rules is good there. Robin Hood chose friends.

If one chooses morality, they better have the integrity to stand up for them. We're not all Brutus'.