Right or Wrong

What is right or wrong? What is good or evil? Some people would say that God represents ultimate good, and Satan represents complete evil. Now, that may be true, but I’m talking about people. As an American, I usually view my country’s actions as justified, and I’m not here to say that they aren’t or to start a political conversation. I just think it’s odd how perspective changes everything about what we think is right or wrong. Take the bombing of Pearl Harbor, for example. Most Americans will agree that it was an evil act committed by the Japanese, but let’s reverse the situation. We had cut off their oil supply. What would Americans do if suddenly we had no gasoline to run our cars and we knew exactly who was responsible for that? I’m not saying that we would attack anyone, but when you’re on that side of the argument, things look more justified. Now, let’s look at personal relationships. When someone’s spouse cheats on them, half of people argue that whoever did the cheating is a terrible person, but the other half talk about what the other person didn’t do for the cheater. Maybe their needs weren’t being fulfilled or maybe the other person simply wasn’t making an effort to connect with them as a human being. Whatever the case is, right and wrong have very different meanings to both sides, but we never seem to see the other side. We close our eyes to what we don’t want to see and say that our actions are somehow justified. Is there any such thing as complete right or wrong, or good or evil when it comes to people? I’ve come to the conclusion that the answer is no. There’s always another side to the coin, and I’m not saying that someone is ever justified when they cheat or that murder is ever justified. I’m just saying that when we truly open our eyes and see the point of view of our enemies and our friends and lovers, life becomes much clearer. In relationships, we can learn what not to do and what to change about ourselves. We can also see if the person we are standing next to is really worth our time. Effort, loyalty, and love are always a necessity in human interaction, but we’re often too blinded by what the other person is doing to examine whether we’re doing those things for our partners. We also judge groups and even countries in the same narrow minded way as we do people. It’s strange. As I write this, I think about all the things I do. If I see someone doing something that I disapprove of, I never question why they’re doing that. When I see someone who looks strange to me, I never stop to think of how they ended up with forty tattoos and thirty piercings. I guess what I’m saying is that if we want to have great relationships and high IQs, we need to understand the why about everyone and after that, concentrate on ourselves because only then can we know what’s fact and what’s even worth our time.