Morality and Self-Sacrifice (Free Essay Example)

Morality: the extent to which an action is right or wrong. I think that right and wrong is such a loose concept. For example, in the story Robin Hood by Howard Pyle, Robin Hood is a man who stole from the rich and greedy to help out the poor and unfortunate. It would be unfair to say what he did was wrong considering he hadn’t hurt a soul and helped out many people. I think that it is okay to sacrifice morality for the sake of self-preservation because our survival is a top priority, everyone's circumstances are unique and determine our morality and sometimes breaking our morals is the only way to survive.

Firstly, I think circumstances are unique and determine our morality. For example, in The Compound by SA Bodeen, Lexie agrees to make clones. Lexie states, “If I start producing clones, I can save them.” Lexie’s morals were tailored to her circumstances. Maybe if the supplements weren’t in danger, she wouldn’t have agreed to cloning herself but because of her situation she felt as if she had no other choice. Furthermore, when Clea started making the supplements it wasn’t because she wanted to eat children, it was to save Lexie. Overall, your morals depend on your circumstances and sometimes we have to break them to save ourselves and the people we care for.

Secondly, I believe that survival is a top priority. For instance, Health Harvard and Very Well Mind  have stated, when the amygdala, the part of the brain that aids with emotional processing, is put in a stressful or dangerous scenario, it sends distress signals to the hypothalamus. Hormones released by the hypothalamus activate the sympathetic nervous system. As a result, your fight-or-flight response is triggered, which helps with surviving harmful situations. Also, in the beginning of Bodeen’s The Compound, the Yanakakis family stayed in the compound, not because they liked it but because they thought they’d die otherwise. Thus, it’s human nature for us to want to live, so much so that our bodies naturally have an instinct to help when in danger.

Lastly, I think sometimes, breaking morals is the only way to survive. For example, if you were starving and your only way to get food was by stealing, you’d probably steal in order to live. This also relates back to my first and second example and they are all tied together in the sense that sometimes breaking morals is needed. Also, in Bodeen’s The Compound, Eli had kicked Rex down a flight of stairs. This was done because Eli needed to save the rest of his family and Rex had gotten in the way. It wasn’t like Eli was bored and decided to hurt Rex, he did what he needed to help himself and his loved ones, even if that meant doing something morally wrong. Overall, we don’t get to choose our conditions and shouldn’t be shamed for protecting ourselves.

Without a doubt, it is okay to sacrifice our morality for the sake of self-preservation. You’d have to be delusional to truly believe your morals would come before your life. It’s human nature to want to live, and no morals, big or small, can change that.