James Michael

Mrs. Thomas
UWRT 1102-058
February 9, 2015

Self-assessment: This inquiry question honestly really does intrigue me but I still
somehow found it a little difficult writing this proposal without somewhat repeating what I was
saying. Overall, I hope you enjoy and my main purpose with paper is to basically just get the
reader to think.
Justification Proclamation
Ive always wondered what people would do if they knew they wouldnt be punished by
the law or knew it wouldnt be socially frowned upon. How far would someone go to as to say
something is morally just, just because the law or their social peers say so? In my opinion some
people do things morally unjust because they believe it is morally justified by the government or
society. My inquiry question first started out with, how does the government affect our moral
values? After analyzing and brainstorming the question I realized that throughout certain
examples in history, not only is it the government that affects a persons moral values but also the
people that are governed by that government that can affect ones views. It was this kind of
critical thinking that lead me to my inquiry question for my UWRT 1102 class. How does the
government and social view affect ones moral values?
I'm asking this question because it has intrigued me how people treated other people
based purely off government and social standards. For example, when slavery was in effect,
slave owners would do to slaves as they pleased because slaves were looked at as property, and
during that time period it was socially acceptable as well as a right that a man can do as he
pleases with his "property". Even relating to "The Book Thief", how non-Jews in Germany
during the Holocaust treated Jewish people was also looked at as predominantly socially
acceptable and praised by the government.

Michael2
For example, this man who goes by the name Adolf Hitler deemed it okay that a certain
race of people be treated unfairly and unjust. All it took was people to listen and then to start
preaching to their peers. This is a perfect example on how the government and social views can
affect ones moral values. It was this movement and other movements similar to it that led me to
my inquiry question.
I really want to make the reader think when they read my inquiry question. I want them to
analyze their own government and try to find certain laws or certain socially acceptable views
that are just morally unjust. I want them to try and recall an incident where maybe they felt bad
about something for maybe even a split second but then realized that everybody else does it so
maybe its okay. I want the reader to contemplate on whether or not they are a victim of this
inquiry question, whether or not their moral values change just because their social peers or their
government said it was okay. These are the types of impacts I really want my inquiry question to
have on the reader.
Due to these understandings, I am led to believe that this inquiry question is a
researchable question and will have a variety of available published experts with diverse views
on the subject. I think Ill be able to look at different governments and different political
movements around the world and connect whats going on there with a sort of worldview moral
compass. In doing this, I believe I can not only come up with a researched answer to my inquiry
question but also raise more questions that will lead me to bigger and better findings.