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We human beings need a moral centre, a set of core values and principles to guide our behaviour and help us make ethical decisions. Without a moral centre, we’d all just run around following our impulses, with no thought for consequences or the impact on other people. (And if you want to know what that would look like, watch a toddler for a day. You’ll get a pretty decent idea.)
Ben Roberts-Smith in front of his portrait at the Australian War Memorial in 2014.Credit: Jay Cronan
We need a moral centre as individuals, but we also need a moral centre as a society. A shared moral framework is what brings us together as a community, helps us agree on rules and standards of behaviour, and gives us a sense of safety. (And if you want to know what a society without a moral framework would look like, put a bunch of toddlers together in a room with no supervision and see the mayhem that ensues.)
We’re all responsible for maintaining the moral centre of our community, but we look to our leaders and high-profile people to set the standards. We all need strong moral examples to ground us, to comfort us, to make us feel like there is order in the chaos. This is why shows like Succession are so deeply discomforting; there is no goodness, no moral centre, each person is as corrupt and self-serving as the next.
On the flip side, we elevate those people in our society who seem to uphold the standards to which we aspire. We elevate war heroes like Ben Roberts-Smith, who demonstrate the courage and loyalty we hold in such high regard. We elevate personalities like Rolf Harris, who make us laugh and keep us entertained. We elevate athletes like Jarryd Hayne, who show such discipline and sportsmanship. We need them as heroes. We turn to them as the embodiment of all the values we hold dear.
And then they fall.
It feels like every other day, another one of our most prominent citizens is shown to be fraudulent, or just fatally flawed. An Australian icon turns out to be a Wizard of Oz. There’s no moral centre. There’s no embodiment of goodness. There’s just smoke and mirrors and our collective need for a hero to admire.
And it’s not just the individuals; our institutions, too, are failing us. The PwC scandal is just one example of an organisation putting its own needs above the needs of the people it serves. We want to trust our institutions, we want to believe they represent our moral centre but, one by one, they let us down.
So what are we to do? Who can we turn to when we can’t look to our leaders? Who can we admire when our high-profile individuals and institutions are so bitterly disappointing?
Well, we can turn to each other. We can turn to ourselves.
On the weekend, I had the privilege of sitting around a dinner table with five couples all in, or nearing, their 80s. They have been friends for 50 years, and have supported and cared for each other through a lifetime of joys and tribulations. I found comfort in their friendship and loyalty to each other. To me, that was goodness and morality.
On Monday, I attended the funeral of an elderly man who died just months after his beloved wife. Their devotion to each other over six decades of marriage was beautiful and inspiring. To me, that was goodness and morality.
At the funeral, I saw a friend who runs her own charity. She could be spending her time prioritising her own needs and desires, but she chooses to spend it helping other people. She works hard to make life better for others. To me, that is goodness and morality.
When our leaders and institutions let us down, we need to go smaller. We need to find a moral centre in our own lives and our own circles. The neighbour who leaves a meal on our doorstep when we are sick. The passer-by who rushes in to help when we are in an accident. The teacher who goes above and beyond the call of duty for our child. The devotion our friend is showing to her elderly mother. Our old schoolmate who dedicates his life to caring for his disabled child. The young person we see bravely challenging a stranger for making a racist slur.
All is not lost. There is still goodness and integrity. Our world still has a moral centre. We just need to know where to look.
Kerry Sackville is a published author and regular columnist.
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