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Common Sense Moral Code Improves Your Survival

There is a growing awareness of "moral drift" in America -- and most other countries.

Within "moral drift" this web site covers sexual morality, the morality of drugs and alcohol, "infectious greed" and child abuse.   The general section, called "moral drift" that covers other areas of declining moral values.

These are just a few of the areas where morals are drifting.

I think YOU are being affected by this.  I believe that if you get the free books I offer from this web site, YOU, and more like you, can start to achieve happiness in your lives.  I offer my help!  I offer my help because your survival is important to me.  In actual fact I believe my own survival is improved when the survival of all others is improved also.

My personal survival is improved even more by the improvement in the survival of those close to me --- my family and friends.  I'd like to be your friend.

Here is how I see this happening.

When you send me the message at "Free Books" I will send you two copies of a common sense moral code.   One is for you to read and keep.  If you like it, you may want to give the second copy to someone whose actions influence, in any way, YOUR survival.  Ask that person to read the book. 

Just as your own survival is influenced by others, so is his.  You may want to purchase additional books so that you can give him more than just one book. Encourage him to do the same as you have done.  He would put HIS name on the front cover of the book, where it says "From ______________"  and put the name of the recipient on the line that says, "To____________."

I do not sell books.  When you get your free books from me you'll find a web address where you can purchase additional books if you wish.  I have no commercial or financial connection with them, or any purchase of books you might make.

There is nothing more to it.  If you read the book, and even agreed with it, and then tried to impose the rules in this book on another? That would NOT be the purpose or intention of the author of the book.  This Book brings you the way you can achieve happiness.  Happiness is not achieved by forcing others to behave in any particular way.  Happiness IS achieved, however, when others around you do, on their own accord, behave in a way which enhances their survival (and thus yours).

How Should You Decide On YOUR "Moral Code?"

You could make your decisions on what is a right or wrong action on the basis of how an action assists in your long term survival.  The books I'm offering are very accurate assessments of how various types of behavior assist or reduce the survival of a person.

There is a possible increase in sexual pleasure from frequent and casual sex relations.  However, careful observation makes it plain that promiscuous sexual behavior actually decreases the survival and happiness of those directly involved. Thus, the survival and happiness of those actually engaged in sexual promiscuity is reduced, yes, but more interestingly the happiness and survival of others around them (parents, friends, children, neighbors) is also reduced.  Happiness is increased when you are faithful to your sexual partner.  YOUR happiness is increased when those around you (parents, friends, children, neighbors) are faithful to THEIR sexual partners.  That is the premise on which the Book is based -- the book I offer to you as my free gift.

The further theme of this book is that when someone close to you, a child, parent, friend, employer or employee, does some act that reduces HIS survival, it will also reduce YOURS.  You have a stake in the moral behavior of others around you.  Your happiness depends, at least partly, on the behavior of others around you.

Some would say that they will decide on an action when the time comes -- that they don't need a code to guide them more than their judgment at the time of the prospective action. 

I suspect that, in fact, even if they think this is true, they still have some basic moral code that will guide their actions.  Their moral code could be to "do whatever I don't get caught at!"  That would be THEIR code and could help them reach decisions in many situations.

At This	The Man Is Looking	He is wondering if he takes it will he get caught	Comment
			He sees the money!  His moral code is:  "It's OK to 'take' money if you won't get caught" but "wrong" to take it if you do get caught.

I suggest, however, that such a moral code will not assist in their long-term survival.  The prisons are filled with people who thought it was "OK" to do whatever they did -- thought that they wouldn't get caught!  There may be some who did the same and didn't get caught, but pretty soon you realize that they are suffering anyway.

The very concept of a "moral code" has been under active, if hidden, attack, certainly to include by the field of psychiatry:

In 1940, leading British psychiatrist John Rawlings Rees and Canadian psychiatrist G. Brock Chisholm, co-founded the World Federation of Mental Health (WFMH).  Chisholm proclaimed that their goal was the “The reinterpretation and eventually eradication of the concept of right and wrong” and declaring that “If the race is to be freed from its crippling burden of good and evil it must be psychiatrists who take the original responsibility.” (source)

The idea that psychiatry wanted to do away with ANY moral code was taken up with something called "situational ethics."  This has been described in various ways -- click here for one -- click here for another.  Essentially, "situational ethics states that the person doesn't need a moral code, but should use his judgment on each situation as it arises.  It is actually hard to wrap your wits around this concept. 

When some see immoral behavior they give it a label as a disease. Alcohol is often treated that way.  In fact many different "unwanted" behaviors have now been given "disease labels" with "drug cures." Click here for an article on that.  Drugs, whether street drugs or medical drugs, do NOT lead one to being more moral, but in fact the opposite.  Here is what a psychiatrist says:

Most of my other depressed patients and those of other psychiatrists, recovered fully after defining and addressing their problems with parents, spouses, children, work, and school.  (source)

A common sense moral code provides some anchors to keep you steady during the gale.

How else could someone find a moral code to adopt?

He could accept what his mother has told him, "Son, don't drink and drive!"  He may not think this is reasonable, because he "knows" that he can drive safely after just one beer, but he is  willing to accept his mother's rule.  Kids are more likely to accept mother's rule when they are young, and less often as they get older.  Parents are often shocked that "John used to mind us so well, but now he just breaks all the rules around here!"

There is an under-appreciated law of groups that when a reasonably moral person takes up with a group whose morals are lower?  The new person's morals will get worse!  How happy would you be if your son was hanging out in a group like the one on the right?  I have no idea what they are doing?  Perhaps it is a church meeting???

The reverse is also true.  If a person with loose morals joins a group where the average morality of the member is high? The new person's moral standards will improve.

Groups count for a lot.  When your child, for instance, has been a loving and moral kid for many years, but goes off to college and joins some group that has a much lower set of moral standards?  Your child will suddenly lose the moral code he had learned at home -- probably.  This would be particularly true if that code were forced on him.  You need to get your child's agreement that some moral code is best for him. This isn't easy, particularly when the TV and life are full of what appear to be exceptions.

So, you need to teach your child to THINK with the common sense moral code described in the free book I'm offering.  It is not a book of rigid rules, but a book of guidance -- it requires that a person be aware of the people and groups around him, and decide whether or not he wants to associate with some person or group. The book will help in these decisions -- a great deal of help.

When people don't have a moral code that seems to promote their own personal survival, or the survival of others, society  has a way of IMPOSING a law on them.  He can ignore the law, or break it.  He can complain that the law is too restrictive, but recognize that the law was passed because someone decided his moral judgments were not good enough.

Much of the lack of morality in our society is probably caused by the decline of religion in society.  Along with this decline was the reluctance by people to consider that actual "evil" may exist.

It seems, however, that one other idea that for centuries had been a constant through these few days has declined and is out of favor. That is the idea of evil. There is something about evil today -- the word, its implications -- that discomfits up-to-date sensibilities. I think modern discomfort with evil explains, in part, the opposition to making war against Saddam Hussein.  (source)

Moral codes work only when they are freely chosen.

This web site is written to describe a common sense moral code -- a code which is presented in a book.  That actual code is NOT on this web site, but you can click on "free books" at the top of any page to request TWO free copies of that book to be mailed to you.

As you browse around on this web site you'll find many examples of things which I, Karl Loren, have felt were immoral or corrupt behavior.  I would like to stress that the free books I would like to send you do NOT have examples like these in them.

The common sense moral code described in that book is intended to serve for any person, of any religious belief.  For instance the book suggests that you should not take "harmful drugs," but does NOT give examples of any harmful drugs.

Thus, this moral code is not one of those that are so rigid and dogmatic as to turn away many who might agree that it is wrong to take harmful drugs, but who cannot all agree on the same list of "harmful drugs."

But, each person who gets this book can, if he or she wishes, adopt the moral code in that book for their own moral code.

But, you can also use this moral code to build your own.

Thus the item in the book about "drugs" simply says to not take "harmful drugs."  You can, as your own personal decision, say that "harmful drugs include cocaine and all other illegal street drugs."  I would happen to agree with that.

But you would see that a cocaine user might not be very interested in a moral code that was so blunt as to tell him that HE was being immoral by using cocaine.  This common sense moral code has to have an amazingly clever gradient scale to improved morality to appeal to a very broad range of the population.

When I, Karl Loren, write on this, my own personal web site, about "don't take harmful drugs" I don't leave any doubt on these pages that I find the use of any illegal street drug to be a violation of MY moral code.  I suggest that even someone who uses cocaine might well agree with this (or not!).

The point I want to emphasize here is that you have to adopt, or not adopt, the common sense moral code of your own free choice.  A moral code cannot be forced on you.

But, if you freely choose this common sense moral code (in the book) then you are obviously also free to add to it in any way you wish.

I happen to feel strongly that psychiatric drugs are "harmful."  Thus, you will see on these pages many examples of the harm down by use of psychiatric drugs.  You may feel otherwise.  You and I would disagree!  However, you would not have to disagree with the common sense moral code you can get free by asking -- because it says, "don't take harmful drugs," but does NOT say which are harmful.  It is then YOUR judgment as to what criteria to use for judging "harm."

You may feel that psychiatric drugs are good.  I would disagree.  We could both agree that a person should not take harmful drugs, but disagree on what a harmful drug is.  Hopefully a logical and scientific examination of the effects of drugs would convince both of us, one way or the other, to agree.  But, you can see that if we don't agree on the premise, we are hardly ever going to agree -- no matter how scientific the evidence may be.

If Joe thinks he SHOULD take harmful drugs, and I think the opposite, then we have a fundamental disagreement that won't be solved by science or logic.  Doing something that is harmful to yourself reduces your survival.  Only people who are trying to commit suicide are interested in reducing their survival.

So, as indicated here and there, many places, THIS common sense moral code is designed to be the basis for making decisions that lead to enhanced survival for self and others.  But, this moral code is not a substitute for thinking and logic, science and accurate observation.

In the light above I would urge you to read about the psychiatric drugs that are the root cause of the Columbine shootings -- click here.

You have a son, say, or a parent, for that matter, who comes home "drunk."  First, that is YOUR evaluation, probably not his!  In any event, if you say, "You're drunk!  Here, read this book of moral codes.  See, it says "be temperate," and you had better stop drinking or you'll go to jail!"

You might think that one sip of beer will ruin him.  He may feel that he can safely drink four beers and, as long as he doesn't then drive, he can sleep off any bad effects of the beer.  The moral code does NOT settle this question -- but that question can be settled if you are willing to examine the logic and science of the issue.

That is exactly what has been wrong with "morals" for thousands of years.  Morals SHOULD be a set of rules that YOU chose for yourself.  All too often they are a set of rules that SOMEONE ELSE forces you to follow.  If you don't follow them, they get laws passed to force their morality onto you.  I have a whole section about this -- THIS PAGE.

It was just a few hundred years ago that Catholics were told they should not eat meat on Fridays.  Here is what happened:

The fasts have died out in the west for several reasons. First, we are becoming very narcissistic. We don't care if our bodily appetites have the upper hand, and many people count recreation and luxury as necessities. In the Roman Catholic Church, the fasts were relaxed because they were not being observed and also because they realized that Lobster Thermidor or even a modest dinner at a seafood restaurant hardly lives up to the spirit of a fast. I say the fasts were "relaxed" because in the Roman Catholic Church, the regulations for fasting are set by the bishops and can vary from place to place.  (source)

Early Christians had this same code, even the Jews before Christ.  No meat on Fridays.

This fish-eating thing was and is a "moral code."  It was very much a force thing two thousand years ago, but it has now fallen into disuse.  On its way toward the present disuse, it went through many many years when you were SUPPOSED to avoid meat on  Fridays.  I can recall in my youth, that the Catholics in my neighborhood would NEVER eat meat on Fridays, but that MY Protestant family did.  When a Catholic kid ate a hotdog on a Friday, he could sure have gotten into trouble at home or with the priest.  Not today.

This is an example of a moral code that was adopted by the early Church because they thought it would enhance your spiritual survival.  After all, your spiritual survival depended, they thought, on having the moral strength to withstand bodily desires (like sex or food).

All through history various groups have adopted "moral codes" which, in fact, were "force codes."  The Church would use the threat of Hell to frighten you into compliance with the code.

The Christian Moral Code

Here in America, for a web written in English, there will be many devout Christians who might read this web site, and may be interested in the moral code presented here.  I've exchanged messages with many of them.  Many of these Christians would say, "Jesus Christ, and the Bible, are all that one needs for a moral code!"

I would never disrespect anyone's religious beliefs, although I may disagree with them.  This devout Christian may well find that the moral code offered for free here is NOT up to the level of godliness that they find in the Bible.  That may well be true.  This moral code, after all, is NOT a religious code and it is NOT intended to take one closer to God, or to Jesus.

When people start disagreeing with a moral code, it may be turned into a law, but also it may just fall into disuse -- as the fasting on Fridays did in the US even though it is still practiced in many other countries.

It is the AWARENESS of these moral situations that points the way to the solution.  If you are not aware of any moral drift, you probably would not be reading this page.  The cashier gives a customer too much change back on her restaurant bill.  She has $5 too much.  Should she put it in her pocket?  Return it?  You may not have any question on this, but there are many who do.

So, congratulations!

You must SEE that drift -- either in yourself or others!

Most often it is easiest to see moral problems in others than yourself -- and there is something you can do about that.  If that person is close to you, then his or her survival is important to you.  It pains you to see him or her harming themselves.  Your happiness will be affected. 

You might well be VERY aware that some person you know drinks alcohol in large quantities, but HE MAY NOT be aware that this alcohol consumption is ruining his or her life.  Others are often NOT aware of THEIR OWN faults.  We, as humans, are very prone to NOT see faults in ourselves.

What you might not yet realize is that when THAT person harms himself, it is very likely to affect YOU!  You may well become sick or sad because another person is harming themselves.  You might be amazed at how much your own life would improve when others around you start to follow this common sense moral code.

After all, what you do can certainly affect others!

Babies live or die, smile or cry, depending on how happy or sad their parents are.

Is there any doubt that you are still affected by what others do, even though you are grown up.

Probably the degree to which you are likely to be affected by the actions of another depend on how much love and closeness exists between you and the other.

You can get quite sick when one of your children behaves in some way that really upsets you.

So, how do we influence those around us, those that may not observe things the same way we do.  We see this glaringly wrong behavior in a loved one!  How would you go about getting that loved one to change?

But, first, let's see what hasn't worked -- for there is much of that in society.

A major point of this web site is that one cannot be forced into being moral or ethical.  Force is not an effective technique for creating real change in a person.

We have prisons filled, and even overflowing, with people who have committed crimes, people who come out of prison very commonly to continue to commit those crimes, go back to prison, and generally never change their ways.  Prisons do NOT change the moral drift in society.  They take a bad character out of circulation for a while, but they don't make that bad character into a good character.  If anything, they increase his skill and purpose of being criminal.

So putting a guy in jail does not usually cause him to become more ethical.

It just happens that I, Karl Loren, am working with some prisoners in both Federal and State prisons.  These are men and women who have gotten copies of the same book I offer you for free on this web site. Each of these men or women is working on a correspondence course based on the Book.  I am one of the volunteer supervisors.  I regularly get completed lessons from these people, in prison, grade their tests and correspond with them.  There are literally thousands of people in prison now who are taking this correspondence course, with hundreds of volunteer supervisors grading their papers and keeping in personal touch with them.

It is a form of that dialogue that I, Karl Loren, offer to you who read these web pages.  First get the book, free, read it, and then if you have any question related to morals, write.  I'll respond and do what I can to help.

When you see someone else being "unfaithful to his or her sexual partner," you can realize that, according to this common sense moral code, that is not a pro-survival activity for that person.  But, right along with that knowledge, you must realize that you cannot force that person to become moral.  It just doesn't work that way.

So, what CAN you do?

There is something effective you can do.

If you are aware of some activity, and feel that it may be ruining your life in some way, then you are on your way to the solution.

Any solution to the moral drift in society must start with the individual becoming aware that there is something not optimum for his life or the lives of others.

This web site examines a few of these areas, starting with "sex,"  "drugs or alcohol,"  "infectious greed" and "child abuse."

This web site brings you references to a common sense moral code -- one that you can follow, and encourage others to follow.  The suggested use of this book is simple.  You get two copies of the same Book.  One is for you read and keep. The other is for you to give to someone whose activities could affect your survival and happiness.

You can even send an eMail to get two free copies of the book that presents all of this moral code.  This is a non commercial web site -- offering only information about this non-religious common sense moral code.

If you would like to do even more?  Click here to learn about how you can become a "Member" of the Happiness On Line Group.

Even if you like this book, and want to buy more?  I do not sell them.  I give away two copies of the Book to anyone who sends me the request, with his mailing address.  No charge.  I also offer free "morals counseling" to anyone who has read the book and sends me a question on a morals issue.  I promise to respond, personally, to every personal message sent through the message form on this web site.

You can send as many other people to this web site as you wish.  Each of them is entitled to two free copies of the Book.

References

Situational Ethics -- The Darkness of Mind

PSYCHIATRY UNDERMINES RELIGION TO CREATE A MENTAL HEALTH STATE

Situational Ethics

Recidivism Official Statistics

The Drug Treatment Of Depression Is One Of The Greatest Fallacies In The History Of Medicine