Joseph Ryan T.

Mejia
BSAC 2B
ETHICS 100

FINAL PAPER REQUIREMENT

This year a pandemic started that affected a lot of people. People are affected by this virus not
only by the means of getting sick but also ethically. People are influenced by this virus that
somehow affected their behavior and morals. Somehow every week, news about people being
arrested, getting shot and mocked for example are becoming rampant. It makes us think about
where we stand in issues like these. The usual days are us being preoccupied with our own lives
because of school or work. Due to this pandemic are morals are being tested. We are left to
contemplate and sought to weigh the good and the bad of these issues. Through this lens we are
able to reassess what we used to think is right and what is wrong. During a recent incident about
an ex-military being shot, who had a mental illness and according to multiple witnesses he
wasn’t armed. This made people realize about the EJK that might have been possibly happening
in the country. People saw a defenseless man get shot, this became an eye opener for them to be
see the dirty sides of our military forces. Without the pandemic not a lot of people will open their
eyes to see how cruel some people are. A lot of voices are encouraged to be raised against what
have happened, and their consciousness about issues surrounding us is looked more into than
before. We are allowed to mold ourselves as better people because we get to use our conscience
to weigh the sides. According to Kant "Without man and his potential for moral progress, the
whole of reality would be a mere wilderness. A thing in vain, and have no final purpose." If we
don’t improve ourselves morally then what does that make of us? Selfish and self-absorb people.
Through this pandemic we are able to dwell deeper into the depths of our conscience. We don’t
act and then think, we would rather assess the situation rather than act on mere reflex. We have
to focus more on what’s important, especially now that we have to look into situations that
should be given a faster solution.
What we should doing is focusing on the majority. The large amount of people being affected
by these issues. Not a lot of people will see it but the ABS - CBN issue affects not only the
viewers who rely on that channel for news but also for the people who work for the company.
We don’t get to see these people behind the camera, but their livelihood is also affected. This just
adds to the number of people who are financially struggling at this very moment. We have to
take these people for consideration because they affect a large number of people. The solutions
that we have to think about should affect the common good of the people. Locally, there are
barangays who would rather serve themselves than the people that they are bounded to help.
They would disregard the people who also need help because of factor such as their financial
status even also their house’s structure. They have to help everyone who is need and look past
what they used to do because we are all affected by this pandemic. It’s our responsibility to point
out what is affecting the majority negatively so that common good would be restored in the
situation that we are currently facing right now.
During circumstances where there is a clear separation between legality and morality, people
should act on what is right. We have to make sure that what people are doing is not abuse of
power. We see how they tend to bend the rules when it’s not in their favour while they depend on
the laws when it’s seems right for their situation. They should be hypocritical of what they’re
doing because this allows people to be enraged because the laws only applies to the weak and
poor. It sets a standard of elitism wherein people with power are able to control what is
happening. We have to stand up for things that we see that aren’t right. For example ABS-CBN
they were given a lot of reasons why they cannot renew their franchise. However, they were able
to justify these claims but still ended up with a cease and desist order from the National
Telecommunications Commission. It disrupts press freedom because it seems like they are trying
to silence the program. We should use our voices to point out the things that we think are wrong.
Especially to those people who use legality to justify their morality even when they’re only
abusing their power. It’s important to speak up about these people and elements that are not good
for the current pandemic. This adds to the problems and issues that we are already facing.
Another example could be the NCRPO General Sinas who was able to throw a huge party, a lot
of people were voicing out their dismay to this issue that shows them being hypocrites for
violating Enhance Community Quarantine restrictions such as social distancing and no mass
gathering. People pointed out this violation to legality because the lack of morality considering
the insensitiveness of the ones involved. It’s important that we take action for what we see is
wrong. It’s a person’s choice to properly see the status quo and the current state that we are
currently facing.
We have to consider other people more aside from only looking at issues and problems that
affects ourselves. As people it’s our job to help one another overcome a situation. We must value
our sense awareness to our surroundings and making everything better than it was before.
Weighing out the good and the bad for us to properly assess what solutions we could do to
surpass the problems we might face. We must have integrity that will work for everyone as a
whole. Factions and divisions only make things worse than it already is. It’s important to help
others open their eyes to situations that may affect other negatively. We must also be the voice
of the weak, the poor and the disabled because morally it is important to fight all evil. A lot of
people will overthrow an individual being oppressed but if we use our moral compass to look
into the situation and give hope for them to be able to go against the oppressors then we are able
to work as one. We are able to dethrone elitists and people without their moral values. It may not
seem a lot when looked closely but if you see it as a collective whole, you will be able to look at
the progress that people are making. Don’t just say that a little thing will not make a change,
because a little thing can add to a bigger whole and it will allow change to happen. It’s important
to fight for what is right and what lifts our morality as human beings. Hopefully after this
pandemic we will be able to apply the values that we have learned after being stuck at home for a
month left with our thoughts that allows us to contemplate on our decisions in life. We slowly
become better people if we stop being apathetic and start opening our eyes to reality and
connecting to our morality.