Mere Christianity – C. S. Lewis (1952)
The more a person wants to do something, the more reasons they can come up with to justify their actions.
As parents, we tend to teach that to children from an early age by asking them why they want it, or want to do it and if they come-up with a convincing answer we are more likely to agree. So, we programme them to be logical about reasoning. We teach them to learn to tell us what we want to hear in order to get their own way, but this might not always be the truth behind the request. We are setting them up to manipulate the world for their own good.
Then we wonder why people in a position of power tell blatant lies. They have been pre-programmed to consider that this is acceptable behaviour.
Politicians have always mapped out in their manifestos as to what the people would like to see happening in their country but once elected the reality of the complexities of delivering outweigh the proposals. That has forever been the case, yet people still go up in arms when it happens, it’s as if they blindly think somehow this time it will be different. There are very few, if any that can hold their hand on their heart and say they delivered everything after getting into power.
I find this the same with many other things on a daily basis. Service providers (gas, electric, water, Internet etc.) promote one thing but once you have signed-up you find a lot of what was promised is either discontinued, only a promotional offer for a limited time or there is a reconfirmation, all of which leaves you with a very different deal, but one that you cannot easily escape as you had to sign-up for a fixed period. Funny how there is always a clause in the small print that they can change things anytime and in any way they choose but you cannot.
I have found over the years that this can, although very loosely also applies to religion. There is a lot of media coverage these days about the corruption of child abuse, embezzlement, exemptions from paying taxes etc. associated with certain sectors of the different faiths not only in this country but around the world. The people concerned can nearly always mount a justifiable argument for their actions, and in their mind they are convinced that they are on the right path, religiously. However, to many others, within the same faith and outside, their actions are totally unacceptable.
That, I think is the nature of conscience, that as a species no two people think totally the same and as a result what plays heavily on the conscience of one will not be an issue for others. I think there is an argument to support the notion that this is linked to parenting, but then there are things out there that parents have no control over. Once the age is reached where the child is receiving influences from the outside world then their upbringing is no longer contained as they are then exposed to many diverse sources which are likely to have a profound impact.