Have you ever stopped to think for a second what helps us to create a better bonding with others and even ourselves by finding inner peace, developing qualities in us humans and a better character?
When we talk about ethical values, we are as well talking about the Pillars of Character—those values that are not political, religious, or culturally influenced, which can be of service in constructing a civilized environment. As already given the information necessary to understand what character is, now let’s talk about the six pillars that conform it, as Michael Josephson and a group of educators brought together. They are: trustworthiness, respet, caring, citizenship, responsibility and fairness. For a better understanding of each and every single pillar, let’s put it in relation to actions that you could carry out in your daily life, or even other people could do to you.
To begin with, you are considered a trustworthy person if you are honest to others, (most importantly, to yourself) and inspire reliability; by avoiding cheating, stealing, even breaking the trust a friend constructed with you when not keeping their secret, for example. If you know how to accept the differences and are considerate of other people’s feelings, then we can welcome respect to your traits. Caring, as the preceding one, displays kindness, thinking about others, and having a warm heart that does not only think about themselves but our neighbor as well. For developing a strong moral code in individuals of a community, citizenship enters the equation, as it is important for making a supportive and protected society; vote and choose what preserves other’s rights. Accepting responsibility is crucial to help you work through your mistakes without falling into regret or guilt, being self-disciplined; think before you act and consider the consequences. Last but not least, fairness is a lot more than we think, it encourages us to be open-minded when listening to others, sharing and taking turns, and don't take advantage of the rest.
In closing, if we put these simple ethical values together, we end up creating a complete good feature or trait for youth to learn and adapt. Our character is developed through time and, if we actually put an effort into it, things could be different.