Foreign Policy Blogs

Have We Passed the Morality Test?

Have We Passed the Morality Test?“The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world that it leaves to its children."
– Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945), German Lutheran Pastor who participated in German Resistance movement against Nazism.

The inheritance of our morality is truly that of a child's, it is not merely leaving children the ruins of war, for war has existed as long as man has. The inheritance of morality is also what wars we fight and how we fight them, as well as how we fix the mistakes of our fathers. A generation was left the Holocaust and they used the experiences to build stronger nations and family units, the worked to develop organizations of peace, but they did not do this for themselves they did this for the future, for the children. True the world did not learn all of its lessons and war still reigns strong, and sadly war in many parts of the world has only become more violent. Today's children across the globe are left to inherit the wars of greed and corruption, wars full of systematic sexual violence and rape against women and girls, wars in which they have been forced to hold guns over toys. Why has war continued and violence increased? The lessons of morality were not always followed and the future of one's children not seen clearly through the eyes of violence.

To answer the question; "Have we passed the morality test?", I dare to say that while great attempts have been made by many individuals, groups and nations, that on a united global scale we have indeed failed. When the wars which were once fought by grown men have now been passed down to mere children, when young girls bodies have become the battle ground in which wars are fought, when orphanages are over flowing, when a quarter of the worlds children live in hunger, when we live in a world were slavery runs rampant, and so onthen no we have surely not passed the morality test.

 

Author

Cassandra Clifford

Cassandra Clifford is the Founder and Executive Director of Bridge to Freedom Foundation, which works to enhance and improve the services and opportunities available to survivors of modern slavery. She holds an M.A., International Relations from Dublin City University in Ireland, as well as a B.A., Marketing and A.S., Fashion Merchandise/Marketing from Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island.

Cassandra has previously worked in both the corporate and charity sector for various industries and causes, including; Child Trafficking, Learning Disabilities, Publishing, Marketing, Public Relations and Fashion. Currently Cassandra is conducting independent research on the use of rape as a weapon of war, as well as America’s Pimp Culture and its Impact on Modern Slavery. In addition to her many purists Cassandra is also working to develop a series of children’s books.

Cassandra currently resides in the Washington, D.C. metro area, where she also writes for the Examiner, as the DC Human Rights Examiner, and serves as an active leadership member of DC Stop Modern Slavery.


Areas of Focus:
Children's Rights; Human Rights; Conflict