IN THE NEWS A SPIRITUAL PERSPECTIVE

Because nations do not thrive by laws alone

From zoning laws to efforts at controlling global warming, communities and nations have turned more and more to relying on the passage of laws as the way to improve different aspects of our lives. But most people will agree that laws alone don't create an ethical society. Even if a law defines certain behavior as criminal and worthy of punishment, the law by itself won't necessarily prevent someone from committing a crime.

That is one reason why no advanced civilization can thrive on laws alone. What really enables a nation to prosper is the ethical behavior of its citizens, as demonstrated by their daily conduct. The term ethics involves the moral choices we freely make, where no law exists to control our decisions. These choices shape everything we do—from the small details to the major temptations. And when they rest on moral principles, our decisions enable society to achieve a higher standard of mutual trust among its citizens—trust that makes that society truly civilized.

Several years ago, some European countries first introduced the habit of punching one's own ticket before boarding a train, instead of relying on a conductor to do it. I went to visit a friend who lived in a suburb of Zurich in Switzerland. When he met me at the train station, I mentioned that no one had bothered to collect my ticket. He explained I should have punched the ticket myself, and then walked me back into the station to have me do that. A minute example, true, but one in which what might be considered a small-scale offense had been corrected by the higher sense of ethics that the case really called for.

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