The Sliding Scale of Morality
Bottom Line: As part of my series, Eight Rules for Life, here’s The Sliding Scale of Morality...
Simply put we all have a sliding scale of morality. None of us are perfect, hopefully none of us are pure evil. So, on a scale of 1-10 with 1 being evil and 10 being perfect, we're all somewhere in between. But we're also not static numbers on that scale either. On that scale five would be neutral. Someone who's neither inherently good or bad. We're all somewhere on the scale but some start higher on that scale than others and the implications are many.
Let's say for example that you're an 8 at your best. Perhaps at your worst you're a 5. Meaning that even when you're the worst version of yourself you still wouldn't intentionally hurt others. However, someone who starts at say a 6, could very easily become a 3 when they're at their worst. That person would generally be a decent person at best but dishonest and potentially harmful at worst.
In our lives it’s important to surround ourselves with those who won’t hurt others during times of adversity and to be mindful of those in our lives who’re willing to do so.