1st Podcast Review: The Drawbacks, Damage, and Dilemma of Moral Licensing

           You open the door for one, let them in, pretend you welcome them, but soon slam the door down, as if you were waiting for this very moment. Moral licensing, that is, allowing yourself to take the leeway, after giving yourself a permission to do so, because you have been “nice” yesterday. The fact that I was kind to someone, picked up some garbage in the streets, and wrote something about racial discrimination on Facebook yesterday, permits me of today to become slightly careless of folks falling behind, spit on the streets and make a sexist comment. Because I was “good” yesterday makes me to feel okay to be “bad’ today; because yesterday’s “good” justifies today.

           I think we have previously mentioned this during our class discussion, but I could not agree more on the point that moral licensing made an effect on this last year’ US presidential election. The 44^th president of the Unites States in Barack Obama. Though I was only nine years old at the time of his election, 2008 federal election was famous enough to reach a little nine year old kid in Korea. The first African American to win the election. The first time an African American won votes from more than half of the country. Though many people of this era believe that racial discrimination should be eliminated from politics, still Obama being elected shocked the whole world. There shouldn’t have been anything strange, but still, for quite a long time, Obama decorated the top headlines for days. I won’t make any political comments about the rights and wrongs of Barack Obama, but one thing for sure is that Americans, at least those who were diligent enough to go and vote for the wrong guy, were lured in the psychology of moral licensing. A president that supports white supremacy right after an African American president. A contributor of discrimination of all sorts right after a hard worker to stop discrimination. I guess Americans thought since they have given a chance to someone in the minority, they are excused and permitted to choose how they used to do it: White over black, and men over women.

           This is a game with a fixed result. No matter what we do, the natural process of moral licensing is inevitable. It will remain forever, as long as we stay selfish. The “door” will never stay open. Nor will it open by itself. But still, with effort, both socially and individually, the can push the door open, and leave it open; maybe not for a long time, but still enough for people to easily pass the door and become an exemplary for the next generation to watch and learn. Bit by bit. That is how we should push the door open; not too fast that it will break the door and bring chaos, but fast enough for the prepared to pass through.