Morality is defined by google as “principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behavior”. A huge influence to our set of moralities is definitely  our own culture, which has fostered us into the people we are today. According to the psychology class I took last year, we are either born with a blank slate and gain principles from the outside world (environmentally affected) or we have a set of universal moralities already (internally affected). In the case of culture, it is obviously an environmental factor, and it also has a huge impact, too. People who have parents to discipline them will learn the good and the bad from their parents, and it is all due to what kind of culture they are in. Families in a Thai culture will probably be very much different from a western culture, and we will probably see things differently in terms of morality. But because the world has become much smaller compared to way back then, many cultures have influenced one another and are coming to one single point, although they may still be different. However there is no doubt that there are yet still many cultures out there that have vastly different views on delicate topics.

The question asking whether it is ever appropriate to say that the traditions or values of another culture is immoral is rather complicated. I would want to say yes, but then all the arguments that I come up with can be easily shot down with something like “you cannot disrespect someone else’s culture”. For example, the internet has taught me that a relationship between an adult and a minor is taboo and should be treated as such, but then there are traditions that support that, and I can’t argue because “it’s not my culture”. It is something that a group of people grew up with, and the majority says that I should respect it. The female circumcision is another topic I want to discuss. Really, just imagining it already makes me cringe. I doubt that anyone would ever want to go through that, nor do they want to endure the effects of it. Researching just recently, I found out that FGM can cause “severe bleeding and problems urinating, and later cysts, infections, as well as complications in childbirth and increased risk of newborn deaths” (“Female Genital Mutilation”, 2018). The sole reason for such a practice to continue is, I assume, that it’s a tradition. They keep this up because they feel that it’s what they are born to do, and most of the time humans are creatures that generally prefer to resist change. It is also possible that the women who grew up from that culture support FGM, only because their parents and families and friends influence their way of thinking. Therefore, if I ever wanted to argue for them, they would have to be the ones to start resisting before I do, because I am not a part of their culture, therefore I have nothing to say.

For me, I would like to say that my moralities are based on whether an action hurts someone or not. If it hurts someone, then I will say that it is bad. If it has a positive effect on someone, I will say that it is good. But I will admit that my moralities are not universal and cannot be the basis of the entire world’s morality, so therefore, I have no say in such a delicate topic.