CONCURRENCE OF MORALS AND ETHICS WITH SURVIVAL cont.

Each society has certain goals toward which their behaviors are directed and which their institutions further. They differ from one another not only because one trait is present here and absent there, and because another trait is found in two regions in two different forms. They differ still more because they are oriented as wholes in different directions. They are traveling along different roads in pursuit of different ends, and these ends and these means in one society cannot be judged in terms of those of another society, because essentially they are incommensurable.
All cultures, of course, have not shaped their thousand items of behavior to a balanced and rhythmic pattern.
By evaluating certain aspects of the belief systems of different societies, reasons for either their survival or demise will be found. Some of the belief system characteristics can be directly applied to present day America using the characteristic that has been shown to be optimal to survival.

Determinate-Indeterminate
Without some order and law to the universe, morality and religion lose their authority.
A perfect example of this is the fatalism of the Dobu is what leads to their impending demise. Since they feel that they have no choice as to their destiny, life quickly becomes futile and meaningless. Although, they are still presumably in existence, it will definitely not be long until they all become so frustrated with their powerless that they all either kill each other or commit suicide. They potentially had a chance for survival if they committed themselves to a different belief system.
Unitary-Pluralistic
Where the Eskimo have a pluralistic view of the world, the Aborigine believe in inevitable laws and have a profoundly unitary conception of life. This is reinforced by a strong sense of group identity and a high level of in-group cooperation and loyalty. This was one of the most powerful aspects of the Aborigines' society.
Evil-Good
The Zuñi showed considerable fear of the the evil intentions of individuals and groups outside the intimate household, and they were also concerned with disaster from events of nature. The Inca, on the other hand, who exhibited no more fear of natural events than did the Zuñi, nevertheless conceived the order of the universe as "evil" in the sense that it was dominantly harsh and implacable. Their dead were neither happy nor beneficent. The well-being of the Inca probably suffered by always focusing on the negative aspects of life.
Individual-Group
Even if the good of the community coincides with that of the individual, the good of the community is clearly a greater and more perfect good to get and to keep. This is not to deny that the good of the individual is worthwhile. But what is good for a nation or a city has a higher, diviner quality. This is illustrated by the Aborigines, who for thousands of years, have upheld that although their society is not designed particularly for the individual, it is the platform which is held up by the structure of many individuals.
Thus, "the greatest good for the greatest number means the greatest good for the future of humanity, for mankind 'beyond' the limits of our own short selfish life-spans" (McGregor).
 Self-Other
One of the greatest aspects of the Greek society was its ability to maintain the self as the ideal. It was a society of people who stood above the need of using others in any manner. They did not function through each other. They were not concerned with each other in any primary matter. They did not exist for any other person-and they asked no other person to exist for them. That was their only form of brotherhood, and it created a mutual respect between them.
In addition, it is only logical that "genes encouraging truly altruistic behavior-defined as acts that increase the fitness of others while decreasing the fitness of the benign individual-would almost certainly vanish over time" (McGregor).
Autonomy-Dependence
The Pygmy society is falling to its knees, it is bowing to the code of other societies and it is not upholding its own. They are continuing to face many serious problems, including poverty, illiteracy, disease, and food shortages. Ethnic rivalries, territorial disputes have led to frequent wars between the Pygmies and other societies. The Pygmy people know that man needs the strictest code of values to deal with nature, but they think that didn't need a code to deal with other tribes or races. By allowing themselves to become dependent on other cultures, they have prepared their own death bed.
America is a society built on the principle of individualism. This country was not based on dependency or service. It was based on a man's right to the pursuit of happiness. As long as Americans have the right to think and to act on the guidance of their thinking and the right to live by their own independent judgment, it will be free. For, intellectual freedom cannot exist without political freedom.
Active-Acceptant
Even successful groups must still accept the idea that they must continue to evolve, and that passitivity between individuals within the group is a disastrous error. The monks who rarely interacted, never formed a bond, and their separation was inevitable.
However, self-assertion must not be taken as far as forcing an idea on others. If it comes to the point that people, who are outside of the idea, are not allowed to freely criticize it, so that all can judge the merits of the system for themselves, then that is not a healthy society.
Americans are beginning to confront the concept of "active-acceptant" especially, because they are beginning to recognize the damage done to their country. Whether or not they conceive of these problems in religious terms, they know that crime, drugs, illegitimacy and divorce all stem from a single cause: the inability to recognize obligations that are stronger than desire. Discipline-Fulfillment
The Zuñi emphasized what was good in life, they were a very peaceful and disciplined society. Being peaceful is probably what lead to their fall. They were unable to compete with the other warlike tribes and were powerless against the Spanish. They might have fared better if they would have taken more chances and broken out of their discipline.
It is evident in American society that many people have a need to experience intense feelings. This is shown in people's intense participation: in sports, games, hobbies, sex, romance; in reading (novels, poems, scholarly works, etc.); in watching "gripping" movies or TV; in personally helping others, in accomplishing a worthwhile thing, in solving meaningful problems, in relevant learning, in working on a worthwhile project, in scientific discovery; in hiking, gardening and other nature activities; in relating to others. In any religion, or any other "ism" nazism, communism, capitalism, socialism. In personal religious experiences. In Charismatic type of religious service or political event. In drugs. In natural and man-made catastrophes. As long as the activity is not damaging to others, Americans should continue to feel fulfillment.
Physical-Mental
While nonhuman primates tend to respond to sexual stimuli with very direct and largely unrestrained biological responses, human societies heavily restrict sexual behavior according to elaborate conventions, and it has been suggested that "under these circumstances much of the emotional energy associated with sex tends to be sublimated into other activities. But the practice of pair-bonding leads among humans to something even more important than this. It leads to the institutionalization of the family" (Pearson).
This was a determining factor in the decline of the Greek society, because once the physical was placed above the mental, the basic building block of society, the family, deteriorated.
America is being faced with this choice daily, and it will be a very important determining factor as to our survival. We could never understand the prohibition of obscenity and indecency, for example, if we think of them in liberal terms--as exercises of the right to free speech, to be praised or condemned according to the good or bad effects on those exposed to them. The goal of pornography is to de-sacralize the sexual act, to detach it from love and commitment, and to put it on sale as a commodity. The continuity of American society can no longer be guaranteed when people see sex in this way. The prohibition arises from the fact that we witness in pornography a threat to the deepest interest of other generations.
Tense-Relaxed
This factor is closely related to discipline-fulfillment. It basically dictates the inter-personal relations. While important, in most cases, it probably is not that crucial to the survival of a culture.
 Unique-General
With the exception of the monks, all of the societies accept that reality is final and that the truth is true. This is not a moral code impossible to practice. It teaches them not to dissolve all ideas in fog, to permit firm definitions, to not hedge on any principle and to not compromise on any value. By making these moral judgments possible, it will make them capable of rational judgment.
It shows that the monks refused to judge, neither agreed nor disagreed, declared that there were no absolutes and believed that he escapes responsibility.
If America continues to realize that reality is an absolute, existence is an absolute, a speck of dust is an absolute and so is a human life, that aspect of our society will continue to be healthy.

For the guarantee of the survival of America, some morals and ethics must be realized. America must acknowledge the generations that have gone before, and not trample on their remains or tear down their achievements. It is this respect for the dead that prompts the awe with which we enter sacred places or celebrate sacred times. It is manifest in the small things--in custom and ceremony. It is also manifest in the large things: in the sense that certain actions are not to be done, not to be thought about, not to be spoken of.
Each American individual must find their meaning in life. If one does not have a purpose in life--the eclipse of hope and absence of love of self and others, the breakdown of family and neighborhood bonds--it leads to social deterioration.
The ability to adjust and be open to changes is also very important. Many Americans are blindly and unquestioningly locked into the values, or the worlds in which they were educated and most are interested in change only in a superficial kaleidoscope of spinning fashion.
America will survive if it continues to live the principles of individualism, seek happiness and fulfillment, return to the "mental" rather than the "physical," and continues to take responsibility for the fact that reality is an absolute.




Appendix A



The numbers preceding the Greek and Roman societies indicate a change in the belief system of that society. The condition and details of the changes are included in the descriptions of each society.
Also, when societies become larger, distinctive political institutions that are not an integral part of the religious system are found. These political institutions provide alternative methods or socially approved processes for defining the norms of acceptable conduct, for allocating offices of leadership, for settling disputes, and for organizing group defense. In earlier human societies the religious system took care of all this. Only at a higher level of social complexity do distinctive nonreligious political institutions begin to emerge. Government consequently emerges as other groups begin to grow in complexity, initially through an elaboration of the religious system, and only later by the inauguration of political institutions separate from the religious structure. Thus, it is made hard to determine precisely what traits of belief systems are the most accurate.

Refrences