Should All Morals be Treated the Same?
Randi Carter
SOC120
Professor Barton
August 2013

In the article written by Lenn E. Goodman called Some Moral Minima, Goodman attempts to point out that we should have a universal feeling about certain morals. He states that there are a few areas where human practices are indisputably wrong and that they are never questioned because they shouldn’t exist. The article goes on to specifically address certain areas like murder, genocide, terrorism, polygamy and rape, to name a few. Goodman does make some valid points, but the practices he chose to discuss, I feel, are too broad. Not everyone’s values and morals are the same. One would think that all morals and values should be the same, but ethics are almost always subjective and relative to their situation and cultural context. I am in agreement with the topics Goodman has chosen, but in some cases, he oversteps his boundaries. Author Goodman claims that “all living beings make claims to life” and that “murder is wrong because it destroys a human subject”. This would generally be considered true. Like everything in the world, it is also subjective to the situation. Do you feel it’s wrong to kill a person in self-defense? There are certain situations where taking a life is considered justifiable. Genocide, which “targets individuals as members of a group, seeking to destroy a race, culture, ethnic class or ethnic identity” (Goodman, 2010) is wrong; the killing of innocent people is part of warfare. You would think ending the war quicker would help protect the innocent people from being hurt; but dragging out the war is in its nature. Goodman also speaks of terrorism. He states “terrorism is willful targeting of non-combatants, aiming to intimidate and attract attention. It is a war crime, since war seeks only to block an enemy’s ability to make war” (Goodman, 2010). This thought is too subjective. If the purpose of terrorism was to defeat an enemy of war as quickly as possible and in addition to prevent further invasion from a recurring enemy, then this is a justifiable means to an end. Next, Goodman’s article focuses on the quality of life that people have a right to live. By associating polygamy with such acts as slavery and human trafficking, Goodman has created an inconsistency in his reasoning. There isn’t any disputing that abuse can and in many cases does take place in polygamous situations. In these cases, it is the actual abuses that should be dealt with rather than the attack on polygamy itself. Child brides and abusive relationships may be part of some polygamous acts; however it is a very generalized statement to say all polygamist families share in these abuses. Goodman also states that polygamy is “not conducive to familial stability or the growth of emotionally fearless