#moral principles

The proof of your being principled isn't in what you say about your enemies.

He would never kill a child and he would never lay a finger on Lou.

Victims in destroyed cities were abstract for him but revenge through the murder of specific child - well, I want to believe, this is too much even for him.

It's all too close to home to him, and hurting Lou is to turning into his own sadistic daddy.

Universal values are principles and beliefs that are commonly regarded as fundamental and applicable across various cultures and societies. While there may be variations in the way these values are expressed or emphasized in different cultures, they generally serve as a foundation for shared ethical and moral standards. Some universal values include:

Compassion: The value of compassion involves showing kindness, empathy, and concern for the suffering or well-being of others. It is a fundamental value in many religions and ethical systems.

Justice: Justice entails treating individuals fairly and impartially, upholding their rights, and ensuring that they receive what they deserve. It is a cornerstone of legal systems worldwide.

Equality: Equality emphasizes the principle that all individuals, regardless of their background, should have equal opportunities, rights, and treatment. It is a core value in the pursuit of social justice.

Freedom: Freedom encompasses the idea that individuals should have the right to make choices, express themselves, and live without undue restrictions, as long as it does not harm others. It's a key value in democratic societies.

Honesty: Honesty involves being truthful and transparent in one's actions, words, and intentions. It forms the basis for trust and integrity in personal and professional relationships.

Respect: Respect entails treating others with consideration, dignity, and acknowledgment of their worth as individuals. It underpins healthy interpersonal relationships.

Dignity: Dignity is the inherent worth and value of each person, regardless of their circumstances. It involves recognizing and upholding the humanity of others.

Tolerance: Tolerance is the acceptance and respect of differences in beliefs, cultures, and lifestyles. It promotes peaceful coexistence and understanding among diverse groups.

Empathy: Empathy involves the ability to understand and share the feelings of others. It fosters compassion and effective communication in relationships.

Responsibility: Responsibility means taking ownership of one's actions and decisions, being accountable for their consequences, and fulfilling one's obligations to others and society.

Cooperation: Cooperation emphasizes working together collaboratively to achieve common goals. It is essential for social, economic, and political progress.

Environmental Stewardship: Recognizing the importance of protecting the environment for current and future generations is becoming increasingly important as a universal value. It involves responsible and sustainable use of natural resources.

Peace: Peace involves the absence of conflict, violence, and war. It is a fundamental value for the well-being and prosperity of societies.

Solidarity: Solidarity emphasizes mutual support and unity among individuals and communities, especially in times of hardship or adversity.

Education: Access to education and the pursuit of knowledge are universal values that empower individuals and contribute to personal and societal development.

It's that moral/ethical concerns aren't what guides most behavior on social media.

People recognize what's principled and kind. But they also recognize what gets rewarded.

The affirmation, the dopamine hit of the likes...is addictive and powerful, and it re-writes our reality if we're not vigilant.

The Algorithm doesn't reward honesty, humility, nuance, or reflection. It rewards certainty, outrage, and loyalty to the in-group.

The Algorithm teaches us that certainty is strength, rage is virtue, and loyalty means never hesitating.

We've learned to fear being socially wrong more than we fear being false.

We don't stand for values or universal moral principles. We signal alignment.

We perform moral clarity instead of living with moral integrity.

Ask yourself:

Are you right...or just on the right side?

Are you guided by principles...or by applause/acceptance?

The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those who speak it.

-George Orwell

The cost of commitment to principles is a social cost, and social media has made most of us unwilling to pay it.

The test of personal integrity isn't whether you're right when it's easy.

Old, Anon.

The word you're looking for is old.

Aging is weird.

The truth is that I don't stay confident in my mindset.

I think that's mostly a good thing, because the reflex to defend a mindset can drive you to bypass genuine listening and reconsideration when presented with new information or new ideas.

Mindsets can get tangled up in feelings, fallacies, and cognitive biases.

I try instead to stay open and skeptical, especially of myself. That uncertainty keeps me checking in with my beliefs. It helps me pause before posting, read people I disagree with, and listen when people disagree in good faith.

Maybe you're really asking something deeper, Anon.

You mentioned feeling like you're never radical enough, or that maybe you've lost yourself.

That disorientation, that sense of being not enough for the tribe you're supposed to belong to is real.

It's especially brutal when you actually care about justice...but your community starts measuring morality by loyalty, shibboleths and performed tribal rituals instead of by integrity.

You're not alone in feeling this way.

____

I've been trying to understand what's happening when a wide variety of people get angry at me.

In the past week alone, no shit, I've had each of the following spit at me as contemptuous invective by someone on Tumblr in Replies, Asks, or Reblogs:

Communist!

Liberal!

Centrist!

Nazi!

Boot-licking Fascist!

I've been trying to figure out what it is I'm doing which is so upsetting to so many people across so many ideological camps.

My working hypothesis:

Consistency is a strangely radical trait to display publicly in a polarized society and it is deeply offensive to people on either end of the horseshoe.

Below are moral principles which I think always apply.

These aren't slogans or moral flexes.

I often want to check and re-calibrate my own internal tools for moral navigation, and that's what this sort of thing does for me.

They're guardrails which help me avoid going off the road of human decency or straying from my core moral beliefs. They're also not comprehensive or universal - they're just some examples which are useful and meaningful for me.

Every People Has a Right to Exist

All of them.

You don't have to love every culture. You don't have to endorse every political entity, but no group deserves to be erased.

If your activism involves erasing a people physically, culturally, or symbolically, you're not doing liberation work.

Oppression Doesn't Excuse Oppression

Being hurt doesn't give you a free pass to hurt others. Nothing justifies massacres. Bigotry and violence don't become righteous when they're flipped upside down.

If we cheer atrocities when "our side" commits them, we're not opposing violence, we're promoting it.

Human Rights Are Universal

Women's rights matter in Afghanistan and in the US.

LGBTQ+ rights matter in Iran and in Florida. The right to protest matters in Gaza, Georgia, and Tehran.

Free speech matters even when it protects people you disagree with.

If we bring up human rights to attack our enemies but excuse our allies when they do the same, we're making human rights which should be universal into something selective and tribal.

Targeting Civilians is Never Acceptable

Drone strikes. Suicide bombings. School shootings. Pogroms. Doesn't matter who's doing it or why. Targeting civilians is always wrong.

Moral Agency Applies to Everyone

People and movements must be judged by what they do, not by the story they tell about themselves.

This includes the US, Hamas, Russia, MAGA, antifa, the IDF, radical feminists, the Ayatollah, and your favorite TikToker.

If you treat any group as too victimized to be morally responsible, you're infantilzing and dehumanizing them. It's not compassion, it's condescension.

Oppressed ≠ pure.

Powerful ≠ evil.

The Ends Don't Justify Inhumane Means

If a "revolution" regularly promotes torture, genocide, authoritarianism, or child soldiers...it's not a liberation movement.

If a cause requires mass deception or mass suffering to work, the cause should be revised or abandoned.

"By any means necessary" can go very wrong very quickly and this phrase should not be used often, casually, or as an abdication of moral responsibility.

Peace and Justice Require Listening

You don't build a better future by eradicating your enemies. You build it by figuring out how to share space with people you may never fully agree with.

Justice requires truth and accountability...then forgiveness and coexistence.

When movements start purging dissent, silencing disagreement, and chasing utopias through destruction...that's when they start becoming the thing they claimed to fight.

Right now:

Identity is treated as morality, and power is treated as sin.

Being "on the right side" means never having to check yourself.

Rage/outrage is mistaken for moral clarity.

Empathy is weaponized against an enemy, not leveraged to relieve suffering.

The loudest performers are drowning out those who are working meaningfully and materially for peace.

A large number of us have abandoned consistent principles and ended up cheering for monsters...mostly because the monsters hate the same people we do.

So I try to hold onto moral principles that don't change based on who's in power, or who's claiming victimhood. Moral principles which focus on alleviation of suffering and promotion of justice, not on revenge or the balancing of scales. Principles which prioritize action over performance, and rational universalism over tribalism.

To be clear, I don't think doing this makes me neutral or right.

But I do hope it makes me trustworthy.

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Anon, if you're feeling lost or like you're not "radical enough," maybe ask yourself:

Are you anxious about being faithful to your values...or just to your group?

Are you sacrificing thought for belonging? Are you sacrificing your own moral principles for social acceptance?

Where did you get the idea that there's some threshold of being "radical enough," and that other people can set that threshold without your consent?

Solidarity without principle isn't justice. It's just one's preferred (or socially acceptable) flavor and direction of selective injustice.

So...what beliefs/principles/values do you hold as sacred no matter what group they're applied to?

---

The quiet moments when you're alone with your conscience are the ones which will tell you who you are.

So don't worry about falling short of perfection, Anon- everyone falls short of that.

And maybe don't worry about falling short of other people's standards either - because it'll never be possible to satisfy them, and you don't owe them a performance or allegiance to their standards.

You owe yourself consistent commitment to your standards.

___

If you feel like you're "never radical enough" or that you've lost yourself somewhere along the way, consider the possibility that you're just experiencing the natural results of trying to be honest and true to yourself in a dishonest, inconsistent, polarized, tribal, performative, reactionary, dangerous time.

Managing that can be difficult and unpleasant, but even just making the attempt takes courage...and you're already working on it.

When I think about the word “moral principle,” I see it as a personal rule that helps me choose the right thing to do in different situations. It’s not always about big decisions—it can also guide me in the small choices I make every day. To me, a moral principle is like a compass. It doesn’t always make the path easier, but it keeps me pointed in the right direction.

The principle I try to live by the most is honesty. I chose honesty because I believe trust is the foundation of all good relationships. Whether it’s with my family, my friends, or even my classmates, being truthful makes everything stronger. Without honesty, even the closest bond can fall apart.

I try to apply this principle in real life, even in situations that seem simple. For example, when we’re working on group projects, I make sure to be upfront if I don’t understand something or if I make a mistake. It feels easier to just stay quiet, but I’ve realized that admitting the truth helps the group move forward faster. Another example is with my friends—when they ask for my opinion, I give them an honest answer, even if it’s not exactly what they want to hear. At first, it can feel uncomfortable, but in the end, they usually thank me for being real with them. My choices affect not only me but also the people around me, because honesty can inspire others to be more open and truthful too.

Of course, sticking to honesty isn’t always easy. One challenge I’ve faced is the fear of hurting someone’s feelings. I remember a time when my friend shared an idea for our project that I didn’t think would work. I was torn between keeping quiet to avoid conflict or being honest and risking an argument. I chose honesty, and while my friend was a little upset at first, it turned out to be the right decision. We came up with a better plan together, and later, they admitted that they appreciated my honesty.

I’ve learned that the best way to overcome challenges with honesty is to balance truth with kindness. It’s not just about saying what’s on my mind but also about thinking of how I say it. Honesty doesn’t mean being harsh—it means being genuine while still respecting others. That balance has helped me grow in how I communicate and how I handle difficult situations.