Trust is something everyone perceives. Trust is something everyone has a different view on. However, trust is something that can be easily broken. Society’s communities indeed exhibit signs of discourse and division when it comes to matters such as what people agree or disagree with or who is truly the best from all standpoints. The most important debates, however, shall tackle the most valuable beliefs.

What defines human morals? Are morals improving or worsening? What causes humans to think that their morals are good or bad? Of course, these are answerless questions being asked, but they are very insightful questions that can be left up to personal interpretation. In this article, we will be discussing how and why most of human society believes their morals are declining and how things like counseling can help improve these morals in smaller communities.

A heavily debated topic is that while people require each other to live, societies still suffer from coexistence with one another. Numerous factors influence this sociological view, including harsh
judgment, disloyalty and dishonesty. Such a claim is made apparent by the article “Moral Decline: Why Do We Still Think Things Were Better Before?” by Adam Mastroianni, a postdoctoral researcher at the Kellogg School of Management.

In the article, Mastroianni, alongside Harvard University psychology professor Daniel Gilbert, analyses a total of 235 surveys worldwide spanning from 1949 to 2019, involving around 500,000 people. Within their findings, they found answers that lined up closely with each other; everyone thinks their moral compass is worsening (Mastroianni). A common speculation
for this decline in morals is mostly due to how, by growing older or being more conservative, people notice a change in their moral compass, usually for the worse.

This is described in the same article when Mastroianni states, “Everyone perceives a deterioration in moral values, but conservative participants see more of it, as do older people. In fact, for older people, this is simply explained by the fact that they have lived longer…The respondents think that this decline is due both to a drop in morality over the years, as people get older, and also to the replacement of more moral people by less moral people, in other words, the arrival of less moral generations.”

Importantly, taking into account the younger, less wise individuals who have less developed morals, and the numerous wars, events, etc. that occurred over the years, their views can be justified.

Another article from 2023, “Views of State of Moral Values in U.S. at New Low” by Megan Brenan, Gallup senior editor, further reinforces this claim. Within the article are multiple graphs, with one showing that U.S. residents’ views on the current state of morality over the years are mostly poor at 54 out of 100 percent, ranking them as poor, another depicting that 83 percent of American people view their country’s morals as getting worse, and another showcasing how 97 percent of Republicans view their country’s morals as worsening (Brenan).

This means that the majority of American people, especially conservatives, view their country’s morals badly, suggesting that societal hope for the country is extremely low. A statement made by English 1 & 2 teacher Natalie Urrego after being shown the aforementioned graph further backs this claim, suggesting that people with higher societal responsibilities show moral corruption, leading to a worsened moral outlook in a society.

Urrego stated, “I feel that in America today, the politics are not trending well for what is morally just. There are a lot of instances of political corruption that are quite blatant. And I think when Americans see this, they lose hope in the moral values of their own population, their own people.”

This statement makes clear that irresponsible and unjust people with very great responsibilities, like political figures, presidents, etc., are one of the many factors to blame for the American people’s loss of belief in morals. To conclude, factors such as the noticing of less moral generations in society, one’s political compass leaning towards conservative ideals and/or
corruption within highly responsible individuals, influence societal views on moral beliefs by causing them to decline.

Understandably, a majority of people will point out the necessary human instinct to judge people, places and things to address threats or adjust to situations or environments. Logically following, we agree with that trait as it’s a necessary and natural quality in humans and society. However, within smaller-scale societies such as a school campus, especially a high school filled with teens becoming adults and adjusting to a life demanding maturity and development, judgment is very often and frequently abused and misused immensely negatively, to the point where people and the environments within these mini-societies become hostile for people and in this case, growing adolescents with still developing brains.

Take this as an example: a student, whom we’ll name Student A, is being oppressed and harassed by another student, Student B, over a racial factor. After Student B starts a physical altercation with Student A over said racial factor to the point of self-defence and retaliation from Student A, the two are sent to the principal. But, as an “absolute zero tolerance” rule against physical altercations, both students are suspended. Is this decision morally fair toward Student A, who simply defended themselves after one-way harassment? We argue that it is not morally fair and we introduce the concept of “free judgment” to support our argument.

But to have an honest argument, we looked into the ideas against our argument. In our research, many people will say that free judgment will bend the written rules and that we must follow what is cited, demonstrating an ideology called “textualism” or “originalism.” Most famously, former Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was and remains one of the most prominent advocates for textualism, particularly within the Supreme Court. According to an inquiry by Brandeis University on judicial activism, they wrote on Scalia as follows: “Scalia wrote that because the U.S. Constitution ‘says nothing about [the amendment’s contents], it is left to be resolved by normal democratic means, including the democratic adoption of provisions in state constitutions.’”

Scalia wrote this as his dissenting opinion in Romer v. Evans, a 1995-96 case that ruled that a Colorado constitutional amendment banning laws protecting LGBTQ+ people from discrimination was unconstitutional. Scalia disagreed, favoring the amendment over the people as it was written law and that the Court was taking sides in a culture war, called “Kulturekampf,” favoring the “cultural elite” over the ordinary citizens.

This case is an example of the idea we advocate for: the idea of free judgment as it morally fits the situation. In this case, free judgment is necessary and was favored in voting as it was needed to protect the people, regardless of identity, from discrimination and hateful acts, whereas the strict law would allow the continuance of such discrimination, threatening the people.

Going back to the implementation of this within teenagers, free judgment is a vital factor within society and those mini-societies, such as school, because as teens grow up and find their people, interests and identities, others may find those interests or identities as something that needs to be ruled and regulated, recreating similar situations as to the Student A vs. Student B example or the real life Romer v. Evans case.

In an article by Philip K. Howard on a website titled Law & Liberty titled “The Need for Judgment,” Howard wrote, “People judging people is the main mechanism for a moral culture. Otherwise, morality is just words. Does this person act in a way we respect and trust? Or is he self-serving? People who are selfish or antisocial should lose our votes, or lose their jobs, or lose our friendship. To rebuild a moral culture, Americans must be free to make these judgments.”

Howard, along with us and the majority of society, advocates for the use of free judgment within society to create a safe and welcoming culture. Unfortunately, with free judgment, as said before, people often abuse this use of free judgment and use it to create false beliefs and rumors. But, to keep a welcoming culture, help and treatment are given to those who may need it in the nature of society.

Due to the overwhelming nature of the society we live in, it is more important than ever to provide teens and young adults with the tools they need to process their feelings. If we don’t, teens are much more likely to lash out, lie to teachers, friends, and parents and to behave in ways that are immoral and harm those who love them. This is why, in an article written by Empowered Therapy, the author delves into how and why “counseling provides a safe space for [teenagers] to vent, talk about their feelings, and feel heard.” The author explains that “[teen] counseling can help bridge that gap by teaching young people how to communicate more effectively—not just with their counselor, but with friends, family, and teachers. It gives them the confidence to speak up and express themselves clearly, which can be a total game-changer.”

If teens are left to fend for themselves, they are much more likely to devolve into immoral behavior as a result of their underdeveloped moral fiber.

Thanks to school psychologist Christine Hess, we have come to realize that, while some teens do lack strong moral fiber; this lack can be attributed to a desire for control over their lives or a
sense of privacy.

Hess explains, “[teens] lie for two main reasons that often work together: protection and control. On one hand, they lie as a shield to protect themselves from the harsh judgment or rejection of their peers. On the other hand, it is a way to gain control. When teenagers feel like adults are micromanaging every part of their lives, telling a lie becomes a way to create a private boundary and regain a sense of power over their own reality.”

Since teenagers are clearly vulnerable, the best way to support them on the path to changing their ways is to “focus on fixing the harm rather than just handing out punishments”, according to Hess. She believes, “[by] showing [the teens] how dishonesty actually makes their life more complicated and stressful, you encourage them to see honesty as a better, easier strategy for their own life rather than just a rule they are being forced to follow.”

The one caveat to this is occasions where students feel the need, for whatever reason, to lie to their teachers.

According to Hess: “Dishonesty completely changes the dynamic between a student and a teacher, forcing the teacher to step out of their role as a supportive mentor and become a detective instead.”

This is detrimental for obvious reasons. Since teachers naturally have more experience regarding practicing good judgment, they are role models and can provide support and resources for students. Hess describes, “[once] trust is gone, the teacher may struggle to believe the student even when they are telling the truth, which ultimately means the student loses a valuable adult advocate who could have helped them succeed.”

The process of teachers and other mentor-like figures supporting teens and showing them how to better develop their moral compass will allow future generations to act with increased morality and less judgment.

Societal honesty and morality are detrimental factors that greatly influence what a smaller community would be like morally. It is important to be aware of and recognize the moral state that we live in, be it good, bad or utterly neutral. However, with the right help, be it through counseling, therapy, or just listening to a friend and helping them vent, the individual communities, including Woodbridge High School’s own, can establish stronger and closer ties with each other. Such connections can help nurture a healthier community for us to live in and a slightly more connected
society. Even if we can’t bring peace to the whole world with just smaller ties, we can still marginally improve society by taking these little steps to help our communities.