We live in a society in which right and wrong have become largely a matter of personal opinion. All individuals are seen as a law unto themselves, and what is right for one person is not necessarily right for anyone else. Indeed, if any person tries to impose their ethical standards on another, the response is usually defensive anger. "Don't try to impose your middle-class morality on me," goes the complaint. "I know what is right for me, and you have no business trying to meddle in my life!"

 

The result is that there is no common standard of conduct that governs our lives. The country is split into a multiplicity of little groups, each pursuing its own values and setting its own ethical agendas. Frequently there is conflict, each little group trying to gain power for its point of view an…