What's The Cost Of A Conscience

Does anyone remember when having a conscience was a good thing? It's been weighing on my mind as of late. It all comes from a discussion with a member of the Millenials, and to word it that way makes them sound like an evil click.

Getting away from the high school mentality, Millennials are between 28 and 43. For Gen X members, these are our children. Where do Millenials get their ideas? A better question might be, where did they get the conscience that keeps them from moving forward?

It got me thinking about the conscience and its effect on our lives. While I don't necessarily agree with everything one expounded on, I did see some validity and a ton of passion on the subject. I would never want to go down the same rabbit hole, but the viewpoints were worth examining.

What's A Conscience

Conscience:

1. the sense of consciousness of the moral goodness or blameworthiness of one's conduct, intentions, or character with a feeling of obligation to do right or be good
2. a faculty, power, or principle enjoining good acts
3. the part of the superego in psychoanalysis that transmits commands and admonitions to the ego

That's how Merriam-Webster defines a conscience. If you haven't examined what it means,

you may have a different definition or understanding of a conscience. What does your conscience do for you?

The conscience is a part of your psyche. It will help you to weigh your actions, deciding which direction to go when standing at various crossroads. It's that thing that makes a child consider whether to take that piece of chocolate or that cookie from the kitchen. The conscience is a key part of weighing out the reward versus consequence of bad actions.

After spending many years in a place where the conscience struggles to exist, hearing about the views of Millenials and how some view others as unconscionable was interesting.

To some, the action or actions of those that stick out in the mind of a Millenial are less about conscience and more about what the world expects. The world puts an expectation on some, but only those willing to accept it. That expectation is to achieve certain things.

Not everyone can afford to pay the price that achieving costs them. Not everybody wants to pay that price. A conscience can be a good thing, but it can also get in the way of success. When it does, it leaves a choice before a person. To abide by their conscience or to bend their values to move forward.

Problems of a Conscience

While your conscience can act as your moral compass and guide you to act ethically and responsibly, it can create internal conflicts when personal desires, ambitions, or external influences clash with your moral principles. How does a conscience get in the way in certain situations?

Take personal ambition as an example. Hopefully, you all have and appreciate ambition.

Look at career progression and how people get up the metaphorical corporate ladder. What if a promotion or job opportunity requires you to commit to actions that conflict with your ethical values? Would you cut the corners needed, exploit others, etc...?

Even more tempting to most people is financial gain. Opportunities for wealth, such as taking advantage of others or engaging in morally gray business practices, might be hindered by feelings of guilt or ethical concerns.

As businesses like Amazon continue to make billions while their employees at the front of the line struggle in an ever more complicated economy, some might ask where is the conscience of the Amazon CEO. Boeing recently went through a round of congressional hearings, and Josh Hawley asked its CEO about compensation for their employees after the CEO received a monumental pay raise.

While it would be hard to say that all of corporate America is beholden to such greedy, capitalistic principles, there has been plenty of evidence throughout the years to show that we don't have a perfect system. Many people who are struggling to find their way see this, and wish it would change.

What are other areas in which a conscience might make it hard on a person?

Look at social relationships. Peer pressure is something we experience early in our development. A conscience would conflict with popular group behavior, even though that's the people you want to accept you socially.

Revenge and retaliation are feelings people struggle with when they feel wronged, angry, or lost. The desire for revenge is overpowering, but a well-developed conscience can prevent a person from crossing lines.

Winning at all costs was once a mantra of the successful, and used as a motivational tool.

The idea that to win you had to work hard, persevere, and never give up on yourself has been touted in motivational speeches and the personal development market for decades. But, does it come with a cost?

The ultra-successful often make decisions that others find distasteful. For example, when Elon Musk bought Twitter, heads rolled. Many were let go or laid off, and many others resigned. It wasn't the first time a company was bought, restructured, and people lost their jobs.

The question in some Millenial minds is why does anyone need 300 billion dollars, or, "more money than god?"

The vitriol coming from those questioning the need for such wealth often sounds painfully jealous. Is it jealousy, or a lack of understanding?

Takeaways

Villaimizing any one group of people never makes sense. It does little to help the issue, it keeps things from changing for the better and keeps the two sides in opposition. In short, it serves nobody.

The successful were once what people aspired to be. Listening to the passionate thoughts of a Millenial some of them can't imagine a billionaire ethically making their fortunes.

Then comes other reasons, one of which is not believing they can ever be as good as the benchmarks of success.

Who wants to be the same? As a billionaire, I'd drive an F-150, live in a country home, and wear tee shirts and jeans. I'd still be me.

There isn't a requirement to be Jeff Bezos. And the next generation of successes can choose. Give to causes that matter, take excellent care of their employees, and live a simpler version of life than the Amazon boss, or be like him. It's all up to the individual, but...

It would be a better world when the ultra-successful start lifting the rest of the world with them.