Dominik+A's+Final+AmEx+2015+Speech

On many occasions me and my brother have had a disagreement on each others actions. When a spider appears in the living room my automatic instinct is to kill it. It makes sense because what if it were poisonous enough to harm me or my family. However, my brother on the other hand, jumps in front of the insect to save it and throw it outside, away from my wrath. His reasoning is that all life is precious, and I don’t have the right to kill the spider. Now the reason I have brought this up is because it depicts the main theme behind this speech. This speech is about the unnoticed question that is prevalent in America. Should we, as a society, do what makes sense or do what we believe is right. In other words it is a battle of Morality vs. Logic. These two paths usually coincide however many issues in America have risen that bring these two ideals to an impass. Like with me and my brother, it seems completely logical for me to kill the potentially hazardous spider but to my brother it impedes on his personal beliefs and morals. This conflict of ideology is present in many issues we see in America today, and they are not as simple as whether to kill an insect or not. Stem cell research, which my fellow Physio classmates should remember, is the science of taking an embryo and retrieving its stem cells which can then be used to better treat diseases such as Alzheimer's, Spinal Cord injuries and even Cancer. It is a very promising field of science that begs further research and many scientists are eager to do so, but there is the conflict that it involves killing an embryo which does have the potential to become a living human, so there has been a moral dilemma there. As a result this science has not gotten the support needed to move forward in an efficient manner. Another is the question of the death penalty and although the present system is terribly broken it does seem reasonable of an option. You do a heinous enough of a crime we can kill you so we don’t have to worry about spending on feeding you for the rest of your life and it could even reduce prison populations however many have claimed we do not have the right to kill someone and life is precious regardless of their actions. They claim what makes a jury credible enough to make them able to determine life or death. So both issues are having trouble being resolved on a basis of moral questionability. These are by no means the only issues. Others are the abortion question, which is always entertaining to address. Neglecting the moral aspects, it makes sense to terminate a pregnancy if the future mother could not financially or emotionally provide for the child but, like the embryo in stem cell research, can become a fellow human being, it can become a productive member of our country. Now in all these previous examples, it has been morality getting in the way of doing what's logical. But with issues like the immigration debate we have recently covered, I see it as logic inhibiting moral actions. The pro side of the immigration debate claim that they are people who need aid so it would be unjust to restrict their access to a better life and call them illegal. But the con says it is just not possible to take in every immigrant that comes stumbling up to the border. The con side fears they will take American jobs, houses, and will increase the growing unstable population and poverty rates. So as you can see we have many questions in American society that need to be answered but the debate between what makes sense and what is right, stops them from being dealt with. And it all comes down to this predicament of morality vs. Logic, which brings to conflict the two characteristics that make us the most powerful species ever known. Our supreme intelligence and unmatched capacity to problem solve is what has made us the dominant animal but our valuable gift to be compassionate and considerate for fellow humans is what has ensured our survival as a collective civilization. Logic and Morality is what I think makes us far more exceptional as a species. That is why it is unfortunate to see that they are preventing us from moving forward as a nation. The reason this is an issue is because it handicaps us from progressing. If I were to say debate abortion or the death penalty, the room would split in half almost instantaneously, as if a spider were in the middle of it. We would argue persistently when we could be spending our overwhelming knowledge bettering ourselves and the country we inhabit. In addition, neither side is truly at fault. People doing what seems to be sensical are not heartless people progressing for their selfish reasons. They are doing what they feel can benefit the country as a whole and what can be more efficient. They see an America of affluence and prosperity. Neither are the moral people to blame. They may be holding back the smarter decision most of the time but it is because they are doing what they perceive as justifiable. They see an America strong in ideals and respectable in nature. Both sides differ because they feel opposing ways in which America should evolve. And really what this battle is, is a complex battle of ethics. One side follows the path in which the answer should be more often proven with facts and evidence, while the other side feels we must be guided by our personal values. And you can say “well people's morals differ and different people see different things as logical”, but usually our logic and morals follow the same path. Morally we know killing is bad and such and such, even if it is only a potential human. And logically, we do what is more efficient and plausible. So the issues that are really impending follow these very common ideals and these are the ones I am referencing in this speech. So what do we do to solve this problem. I have been struggling with this issue in my head long before this speech was ever presented to me. The only solution I have come to, is that must choose Logic or Morality to take the political priority when it comes to issues such as these. We must decide which is the higher priority when it comes to legislative complications. We have to choose whether our government take a more sensical, productive view or one following strict righteous principles. And honestly it doesn’t really matter which one it is, just as long as we resolve these issues, we can then progress America to its full capacity. Like in the great words of Abraham Lincoln, “a house divided upon itself cannot stand”. Much like the in the civil war, the transition to choose one side and run with it will be painful and perhaps risky, but until we do so, we will not progress to our full capacity. I believe this the only option. We cannot be logical with some of these issues and be moral with the other. We cannot chose to value human life and not allow abortion on one side and then allow death penalty because it seems sensical and vice versa. It will create a unstable and questionable government which will then begin to lose its credibility. If we finally chose which is more important, we can spend less time and energy arguing and more time propelling America forward. Does that mean if we chose morality we must stop being logical? No it just means that political actions will take a more moral or logical route depending on what we chose. So if these two characteristics ever go to a conflict with each other, one will predominate over the other. So in the end unless we make this difficult decision, we will remain in our quarrel of ideals without ensuring ourselves a prosperous future. But this is my take on it. If a sixteen year old in high school is able to solve this incredibly complicated issue it isn’t very much of an issue now is it. However, as a little sidenote, I believe that my fellow classmates, the people in this room, will be the ones to find a better solution and solve this crisis. We are the amongst the brightest in the nation and I feel we have the needed intelligence, ambition, and courage to ensure that the country we live in can be filled with cooperation and progression. We can greatly impact the Future America and for obvious reasons, that makes me both admire you and fear you. As an early farewell address to AmEx in junior year, it has been an honour to learn alongside all of you and I am excited to see what we achieve in the future. Thank You.
 * Morality vs. Logic **