A lot of people in the current culture we live in do not place any value on their word or honor. I don’t really blame people for this since the system we live in almost exclusively rewards exactly the opposite behavior.
But it does make it very hard to communicate with people when you don’t have the same vocabulary.
It seems like you and I believe a vow is something that you make and would hold yourself to regardless of circumstance. But the nature of our capitalistic society teaches us from very young age that if it will improve your standing, your finances, or your situation in some way, then it is okay to break your personal code.
With that rambling paragraph in mind, it’s not surprising when we find out that most folks don’t have a personal code and vows mean nothing more than a pinky swear.
I didn’t say anything about a divorce or murder. Maybe I was bad at getting my point across.
The point I’m attempting to make is that putting value on your word, and by association giving extra value to a vow over another type of promise, is a lesser respected or necessary part of being a human in the late stage capitalist society that we live in.
This can be evidenced by people saying that a vow can easily be broken if the circumstances change.
That’s correct. People have always been people. In my short time on this dirty ball in space I have noticed that people I know, and people I work with, and people I interact with on the street, all put less and less value on intangible things like honor, respect, and your personal word being worth something as time goes on.
I’m in no way saying people were better in the past. I’m saying that the value assigned to these intangibles is currently worth less than it was in recent cultural memory.
Possibly that is part of it. But I am not sitting here saying humanity is getting worse over time in general. Just that the value placed on some of the unwritten parts of the contract have lessened in value somewhat.
A lot of people in the current culture we live in do not place any value on their word or honor. I don’t really blame people for this since the system we live in almost exclusively rewards exactly the opposite behavior.
But it does make it very hard to communicate with people when you don’t have the same vocabulary.
It seems like you and I believe a vow is something that you make and would hold yourself to regardless of circumstance. But the nature of our capitalistic society teaches us from very young age that if it will improve your standing, your finances, or your situation in some way, then it is okay to break your personal code.
With that rambling paragraph in mind, it’s not surprising when we find out that most folks don’t have a personal code and vows mean nothing more than a pinky swear.
Plenty of people before 2025 divorced for any number of reasons.
Plenty of people straight up murdered their spouse because divorce wasn’t an option.
Saying “people in the current culture we live in do not place any value on their word or honor” means you have no idea how people in the past lived.
People are today as they have always been, just with different gadgets and environment.
I didn’t say anything about a divorce or murder. Maybe I was bad at getting my point across.
The point I’m attempting to make is that putting value on your word, and by association giving extra value to a vow over another type of promise, is a lesser respected or necessary part of being a human in the late stage capitalist society that we live in.
This can be evidenced by people saying that a vow can easily be broken if the circumstances change.
That is not what a vow means.
My point is that it hasn’t changed. People have always been people.
That’s correct. People have always been people. In my short time on this dirty ball in space I have noticed that people I know, and people I work with, and people I interact with on the street, all put less and less value on intangible things like honor, respect, and your personal word being worth something as time goes on.
I’m in no way saying people were better in the past. I’m saying that the value assigned to these intangibles is currently worth less than it was in recent cultural memory.
I think what you’re describing is the breakdown of the social contract
Possibly that is part of it. But I am not sitting here saying humanity is getting worse over time in general. Just that the value placed on some of the unwritten parts of the contract have lessened in value somewhat.
We’re 100% on the same page.