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Moral Principles for Democracy
A training programme
We want the fruits of democracy
But what about the roots?
We need to plant the moral roots from which it grows
What would happen if I multiplied the way I live by the number of people living in my country?
What would happen if everyone in the country lived as I do?
Would there be honesty and cooperation in the country? Or growing corruption and division? As I am so is my nation. That means to be responsible.
To be responsible is fundamental to democracy.
5 million like me
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As I am so is my nation
People matter more than things
That is a hallmark of democracy and a basic requirement of all kinds of freedom.
In families, in industry, in politics, and in society often money, plans and power mean more than people. But that can lead to the destruction of democracy.
To be ready to serve and care for others is needed to build a true democracy, where people matter more than things.
People matter more than things
Often we live like two dogs fighting over a bone
We live that way when we are out to get.
The two dogs can be husband and wife, employers and workers, or competitors in business and in politics.
But that is a false battle line. Whoever wins will bring nothing new to the situation. The bone just changes place.
But there is another battle line, where we are ready to give, where people no longer fight over who is right, but try to find together what is right.
When we are out to get, we kill democracy. When we are ready to give, we strengthen democracy.
Not who is right but what is right
Everybody wants to see some other fellow change
We often want to see another nation change.
But everybody is waiting for the other one to begin.
But if you want to see a change take place, the best place to start is with yourself.
That goes for individuals as well as for groups of people and for nations too.
When I point a finger at my neighbour three more are pointing back at me. The best place to start is with yourself
A moral backbone for democracy
When democracy has a moral backbone it will be strong and alive with vigour and initiatives.
As the north star was used by sailors to find their way over the seas, so have honesty, unselfishness, purity and love universally been expressed as the aims for human beings to find their way to live together and to build a satisfying society.
Democracy without a backbone
Democracy needs a moral backbone
Why absolute standards?
This man has pulled the chord and the parachute has almost opened. No wonder he is looking scared!
Moral standards must be absolute
Moral standards that you almost follow - are no better than the parachute that almost opens. The person who gets some of his wages some of the weeks is quite clear on the need for the "absolute".
Also moral standards must apply to everybody. If we can adjust them as it suits us best, they are not standards.
Like a ship never reaches the north star, so human beings are not perfect. We make mistakes, we fall short of the absolute moral standards.
But we can measure our lives by them. And we can try to correct what we have done wrong. Like the man who is repairing the 4 lines.
When the line is broken no message will come through. But when it is repaired, we can hear the other person speak to us.
So it is also in human life. We all have an inner voice, that can help us find what is right. Some call it God's voice, but what we call it is not essential, as long as we listen to it and follow it.
When we break a moral standard, that voice becomes weaker. When we correct our mistakes, we hear it again.
Repairing a broken line
We must repair our mistakes
In a democracy we all have a part in the creation of our society and in what shall happen in our country.
What can I do about it?
Taking time to listen to the inner voice is a help to strengthen moral foundations in our life and family - work and society.
One of the cradles of democracy was in Pennsylvania, 300 years ago, when people from Europe went to a new country trying to build a free society.
One of these pioneers was William Penn. He has expressed a very fundamental truth of what is decisive for democracy:
Men must choose to be governed by God or they condemn themselves be ruled by tyrants
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