Letter from birmingham Jail and on Morality

In Search of Morality

Daniel Webster’s dictionary defines morality as "the quality of being in accord with standards of right or good conduct." Yet the definitions of the words "right" and "good" remain ambiguous. From childhood and throughout a lifetime, we are told what we can and cannot do. But why can we not do some things? Often times, the answer is, "Because it's wrong." But what is wrong? How does one determine the difference between right and wrong? What it usually comes down to is what morals are directing the decision morality has been questioned by people, honored by people and revered since the beginning of time. Yet even today not one person can say what is morally right. It is a matter of opinion. In Martin Luther King Jr.’s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" and Joan Didion’s essay, "On Morality," both prose at the concept of morality. Through the juxtaposition of both authors’ essays, the reader is asked to come up with his own understanding of the purpos...