A Rant...or Moral Dilemmas

I was just reading President Monson's address during the Priesthood Session of General Conference, and something surprised me. In a recent study, 230 young adults were asked open ended questions about moral dilemmas, right and wrong, and so forth. Most young adults did not understand what a moral dilemma was. In fact, they thought that affording an apartment was a moral dilemma.

What? Finding or affording an apartment is an issue, a problem, but not a moral dilemma. Deciding whether to falsify information so you can get an apartment even though you won't be able to pay rent is a moral dilemma.

I had no idea people were unaware of what it means to have a moral dilemma. And then it got a little more disturbing. When asked about a moral right and wrong, many said that moral choices were individual or personal choices. This is dangerous and quite troublesome. While it is certainly true that others have the same God given agency that I have, that does mean that morality is up to us to decide upon.

It is dangerous to think that you can make up the rules. This is simply not true. Taken to it's extreme, that would mean that it is okay to kill someone if it is what you want to do and it fits into your needs. Like, I need that person's money or that person's valuables, so it is okay for me to steal from them, or even kill them, if necessary. Of course, I doubt that anyone taking the survey considered that extreme. But if "do what is right for you" is correct, then I can justify any sort of behavior based on that logic. It's okay for me to drink and drive because "It's right for me." It's okay for me to mistreat others because "It's right for me." Whether small or big - littering on the sidewalk because I can't be bothered to find a trashcan or illegally selling drugs because I'm out of a job and need money - my decisions are simply up to me. If it feels right, I am justified in doing it.

Hello! Is anyone else as disturbed by that line of thinking? At minimum, we should be able to recognize that life isn't about doing whatever you want to do whenever you want to do it.