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Moral Compass Research Paper

Decent Essays

The Effect of Experiences

Crimes are committed on a daily basis by people who are aware of the illegality of their actions and the effect on the victim. Equipped with this knowledge, criminals still make the decision to cross the line of law and morality, crossing the divide between right and wrong. The idea of right and wrong is one of the main concepts society is built on, everyone is aware of it. The perception of this concept, however, is changed by experiences in life, and decisions made in life are based on these perceptions. The distinction between right and wrong will conclude the direction in which one’s moral compass points. An individual’s personal experiences throughout life will transform their ideas of right and wrong, changing …show more content…

Idols are people looked up to and admired, able to influence actions and thoughts. Idols can be everyday people and in some occasions they do not feel the need to set positive examples. Their moral compass is able to influence the moral compass of someone who wishes to be like them. It is able to influence the ability to differentiate right from wrong, of the person who looks up to them. The influenced will adopt their theories of morality and begin to use them in their own life; their ethics have been influenced by their experiences with their idol. Children are much more naïve and susceptible to influences of this nature, like Richard Ramirez. As a child he spent most of his time with his older cousin, a soldier in the Vietnam war. Ramirez was inspired by his cousin and wished to be like him, fighting for his country. However, his cousin soon became known as a sadistic man, his actions inside and outside of war were deplorable. He would give detailed accounts about how he had taken peoples lives in war and sexually assaulted many women. Ramirez listened to all these accounts and since he was only a child, allowed himself to be influenced, allowed his moral compass to be influenced. His sense of right and wrong no longer conformed to that of society due to a single influence slowly altering his morals. These events occurring when he was still a child means they would shape who he would grow up to be, using his influenced knowledge to navigate through life. His choices led him on the path to becoming the ‘Night Killer’; Ramirez murdered thirteen people before being caught and incarcerated. The single influence of a man who held twisted morals altered Ramirez’s morals, to the extent of shifting his sense of right and wrong. This caused him to commit actions that society sees as deplorable, but he fails to recognize as

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