should guilt be employed to make decisions and policy?
in the article, what causes guilt and how to overcome it, psychologist dr. mark winwood noted that guilt is something that is normal.
guilt can occur when we do not meet our expectations. guilt occurs when we failed to achieve obligations in either a positive or negative fashion. we feel guilty about not visiting a sick grandmother and we feel guilty about cheating one’s spouse.
dr. winwood coins guilt as a feeling of remorse or sadness over a past action. he likens it to an experience that may have caused harm or broke one’s moral compass. he further divides guilt into two categories, appropriate-healthy- and irrational-unhealthy. he indicates that “appropriate guilt” helps regulate our social behavior.
increasingly, people don’t want to feel guilty. they wish that all of their actions, no matter how immoral, are “guilt free”. in order to achieve this “guilt free” experience, one must reconfigure society to permit conduct harmful to one’s moral compass. in essence, they act to create “new” right and wrong and eliminate any cognitive dissonance relating to their moral compass.
for instance, individuals who consumed marijuana when it was illegal perhaps long desired to enjoy the activity “guilt free”. this could be achieved by making cannabis legal. before this, each and every inhale came with a level of moral discomfort. likewise, each illicit purchase most likely aroused some tense feelings.
likewise, “social justice” practitioners most likely felt guilty when their society disproportionately incarcerated a particular racial or ethnic group. these individuals felt guilt towards the reality that they were not living in an idyllic, utopian and anti-racist society.
with both of these circumstances, it would appear that, out of guilt, society essentially decriminalized conduct in part to create an emotional catharsis. no longer would their be worrying about the the past, present and future legalities of purchasing and consuming cannabis. further, they could take pride that they are protecting racial and ethnic groups from prison. they can guiltlessly assert, when confronted on the issue, that they are not racists.
while these actions may have unburdened guilt, they have also plagued society. with increased cannabis usage, there are a multitude of medical problems that have increased. this includes mental illness. legal marijuana has created a black market so significant that it is now government law enforcement agencies who are now acting as “enforcers” for the legal manufacturers. additionally, it is my firm belief that marijuana contributes significantly to the homeless problem in many ways.
with criminal justice reform, relaxed shoplifting laws have opened the door for a new level of organized crime. it has led to legitimate stores closing up shop, store locations destroyed, and violence against both employees and customers. further, there is a moral toll that occurs when ordinary people have to watch on the news and social media people engaging in immoral activity. it has sent a message to residents that their politicians and law enforcement who -simply put- don’t care about them one bit.
be well!!
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in sum, should guilt play a role in your decision making? please feel free to leave a comment.
The Ten Commandments Project 