It’s just gone 11pm in Australia so I checked in to see if SYW was up before I went to bed. These are tough questions to answer but I will try.

Questions

Is any one person’s life worth more than another’s? Why or why not?

I’d like to say no but even though I totally disagree with the death penalty I do feel that the life of someone who has done good in the world or even who has done no harm is worth more than that of a rapist or a murderer. I would hate to be in the position of having to choose who should live and who should die but if I had to that’s the way I would look at it.

Can a good person do evil things and remain a good person? Under what circumstances?

Good people do sometimes do bad things. Killing is wrong but soldiers and law enforcement officers are forced to do it. People defending themselves or their families are sometimes forced into that situation too. I don’t think that makes them bad people unless they enjoy it.

Is somebody morally culpable if they take a morally wrong action at the orders of a superior? What if their life is at stake?

I think so. If the person’s life is at stake if they don’t follow orders, I would have some understanding and compassion for that. I am sure that we can all think of examples of that especially in war situations. However, I think that if you are in a situation like that at work, for example, you have to make a decision about what’s right and wrong. Report the immoral practices or don’t work for those people. Easier said than done I know, but if you value your integrity you can’t work for people like that.

People had widely mixed opinions about illegal bananas, so let’s take that a step further this week:    What would be the worst thing for a government to make illegal?

I’m not going to be too serious over this one. I would not want the government to ban chocolate.

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GRATITUDE SECTION  (Always optional).

Given global events right now, do you have words of comfort or an uplifting thought that you’d like to share with the world?

I normally try not to watch too much news. I get the headlines on the radio in the morning and during the day I check the main stories on the internet a couple of times and may read some articles in more detail. What I don’t do is watch TV news. I prefer to read than to watch. Today, I’ve been at home by myself. Naomi had taken her car to Launceston to get some work done on it and is staying over. I’ve had YouTube on for company and came across some vlogs by people travelling in the Ukraine.

This is a very scary situation and it is hard to find anything uplifting things to say at the moment. Here in Australia, I have heard that Russian Australians feel deeply upset about what is happening and support the Ukrainian community. I see on the news that many in Russia feel the same way. Perhaps enough of them will to effect a change in their country. That is what I hope.