{"id":12864,"date":"2025-04-07T07:31:13","date_gmt":"2025-04-07T14:31:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vilni-media.com\/?p=12864"},"modified":"2025-04-07T09:25:52","modified_gmt":"2025-04-07T16:25:52","slug":"smert-prystojnosti-iak-rosiia-pidryvaie-nashi-chesnoty-i-chomu-my-sami-ij-dopomahaiemo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vilni-media.com\/en\/2025\/04\/07\/smert-prystojnosti-iak-rosiia-pidryvaie-nashi-chesnoty-i-chomu-my-sami-ij-dopomahaiemo\/","title":{"rendered":"Death of Decency: How Russia Undermines Our Virtues\u2014and Why We Ourselves Help It"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cIn hyperreality, there is no longer a difference between reality and its simulacrum. We substitute images for facts, and the worst part is that we mistakenly believe this to be the truth.\u201d<\/em><\/h3>

Postmodern statements by Baudrillard<\/a> still acutely mirror our own era, while the world is experiencing a stark paradox: the louder society proclaims its values, the easier it becomes to rule it with misanthropic cynicism and ostentatious cruelty\u2014phenomena increasingly seen in big business, political circles, and at the level of state leaders. Why, despite humanity\u2019s deep-seated need for virtue,<\/em> do we so often choose symbols and illusions over genuine integrity? And is there any way to ensure that our desire to \u201cbe a good person\u201d does not remain an empty slogan?<\/strong><\/p>

An Unfashionable Decency and the Mass \u201cHumanizing\u201d of Evil<\/strong><\/h3>

We are on such a perceptual footing that, by and large, we can no longer distinguish truth from falsehood. In an endless reality show, the prime benchmarks for attention have become the loudest outcry and the flashiest (often crudest) packaging. As Stella Samuel notes in his op-ed<\/a> \u00abThe Death of Common Decency\u00bb<\/em> \u201d: once, moral example and respect for one\u2019s opponent were a leader\u2019s hallmarks; now, rudeness and public humiliation have been elevated to the rank of \u201cwinner\u2019s virtues.\u201d The audience openly \u201cbuys into\u201d such behavior\u2014not always because they like it, but often because there are no equally convincing alternatives.<\/p>

We vehemently denounce ignorance and crudeness at face value, and each of us longs for a morally healthy society. Yet in the \u201chyperreality\u201d shaped by the information environment, we grow weak and forget the true value of empathy and respect. Thus, when voting or making other choices, people often stop at whichever image looks stronger.<\/p>

In our \u201cdigital reality,\u201d raw, unvarnished evil is presented so entertainingly and wittily that we unwittingly become its fans. Sam Goldstein, in The Erosion of Societal Values in the Digital Age,<\/a> writes<\/em> about the very real gap between declared ideals and actual behavioral patterns. We want a better world, where respect and empathy are the norm; yet at the same time, we spread posts that contain insults and conflict. Everyone, without exception, is \u201ccurious\u201d to watch scandalous content or provocative posts. People have ended up mired in polarizations and black-and-white thinking. David Brooks (\u200e<\/em>How America Got Mean\u00bb, The Atlantic<\/em>) adds<\/a>that these polarizations and binary schemes allow our moods to be manipulated through the simplest emotions: fear, outrage, aggression. It\u2019s simpler that way. It\u2019s easier to live. As a result, even if we claim to support \u201cgood,\u201d we become part of a pseudo-responsible culture\u2014reposting or \u201cliking\u201d real cruelty, spurred on by the crowd effect.<\/p>

Political Elections as an Illusion of Common Sense<\/strong><\/h3>

People evaluate the same politician in radically different ways, depending on how strongly that politician\u2019s charismatic \u201cwrapping\u201d is presented\u200eThe Trump Values Crisis<\/a>\u200e<\/em>. This occurs not only in America or Ukraine; in every single country, populists and \u201cstrongmen\u201d seduce citizens with promises of \u201ceasy fixes.\u201d Yet behind these well-known personas often lurk utter hollowness, blatant abuse of power, or outright sociopathy.<\/p>

The crux of the matter is that the average person, who advocates for honesty verbally, is guided by other criteria in the actual voting booth\u2014primarily seeking protection from fear. The illusion of security and the feeling of \u201che\u2019s my leader\u201d nullify any serious breaches of moral principles that we ourselves supposedly champion. Think about whether you\u2019ve been frightened by candidates who crossed your radar. Undoubtedly you have. They frightened you and offered solutions. And if they succeeded in winning, they shaped expectations for a \u201cproblem solved\u201d that will never come, but will suffice for the victor\u2019s term in office.<\/p>

If a society is submerged in an environment dominated by imitations, genuine meanings\u2014such as decency\u2014go unnoticed, buried amid flashy replicas or even copies of copies. However, escape from this cycle begins precisely when we cease being passive consumers (of news, leaders, ideas) and reclaim our capacity for critical thought. Several guidelines can help:<\/p>