Morality, what a topic. It has been debated ever since the word itself was conceived. Some individuals believe that morality is relative; what is moral for one doesn't have to be moral for another. Likewise, individuals should not press their moral standards on others. Sounds reasonable, but for one itsy bitsy little inconvenience.

That's not the way it works.

Yes, morality is relative, but not in the way we see it. Morality can only be relative to one thing, and that is an absolute morality. Now it might be argued that absolutes don't exist; that everything is relative. But, then, if everything is relative, why do we insist on absolution. If something bad happens, we say, "That's not fair!" But what is fair? What is fair to you might not be fair to me, right? Even if that were true, we infer an absolute reality where an absolute "fair" exists.

But can we trust the human sense of absolutes when we come to the matter of morality. If civilization were to be observed as to how morality has affected it over the decades, one would notice that morality in itself is what makes us civilized at all. This is what separates Homo Sapien from the apes, the reptiles, the fish. This is what gives the human race, the right, to call themselves sentient.

The very fact that morality is the cement that holds our homes, our communities, our nations together, shows that morality cannot be relative. Relativity based on nothing absolute creates chaos. It can only tear down, not build up.

The reason this philosophy is adhered to is because of rationalization. It makes us uncomfortable to have a standard, something that all have to meet, not a select few. Knowing this makes us uncomfortable, but also rebellious. Human beings have a tendency to defy authority. From children snickering behind a teacher's back to grown men trying to steal money from their employers. Here we feel one of the greatest authorities of all, an absolute authority, and the rebellion in us is no different than when we disobey parents as children.

This rebellion makes us rationalize our morality. We invent excuses to try to cover up our mistakes. We try to deny what we sense of an absolute morality and what we betray with our true thought. The relativity of morality is only another attempt to deny an absolute standard that we all must follow.