Why be good? It’s not a question you’re supposed to ask, but at times, you have to wonder. Being moral demands two things of you: one, determine the right course of action; two, follow it. Either one can feel like more work than you can handle. Everyone has stumbled over step one, especially when two rights were in conflict. (For instance, you shouldn’t treat your friend like a child, but you shouldn’t let him drive drunk either, so...)

And then, step two: even when you know what you should do, there are so many chances to ignore your conscience and slide by. Make 20 copies of your wife’s LIC papers on the office machine, say, or grope someone else’s girlfriend at the party. Okay, you know it’s not right, but you also know you probably won’t get called on it.

Granted, these aren’t he great philosophical or political issues of our time. They represent gritty, everyday soul-searching. After all, people around the world don’t agree on the nature of God or who has the right to marry or what kinds of birth control are ethical, but the rules that govern daily life are pretty similar everywhere.

We all want the people around us to be kind and unselfish, fair and just. We want them to keep their promises, tell the truth, and not betray us. Yet there are definitely times when you’d get more sleep, or win that promotion, or have a fun evening, or feel smarter or cooler, or save yourself some money-if you bent the rules just a bit. Or just ignored them.

And sometimes the guy who does that seems to be doing just fine. It’s not surprising to want to be that guy. What is surprising is how many of you have chosen not to be him. Successive polls done by Reader’s Digest to test people’s honesty across countries and across continents have thrown up results that defy expectations.

In a 1997 test, the magazine’s reporters left wallets containing money and their contact numbers where passersby could easily spot them in cities around the world. The percentage of wallets returned were almost the same in Asia (57 per cent) and Europe (58 per cent) and slightly higher in the US (67 per cent).

But-and this is the most interesting part-while only one person in the US declined a reward for returning the wallet, a very high 72 per cent in Asia firmly said no. They would take no money for doing ’the right thing’. And honesty, it seemed, had no demographic profile. Many of the poor returned the money, while many of the affluent kept it. Many of the young proved honest, while many of the old pocketed the find.

Is it worth it to work on morals the way we work on our careers, our pickup lines, or even our bodies? Men and women have been asking themselves this for a long time, since even before there were mirrors.

After over thousands of years of religion and philosophy, they’ve come up with different answers. Here are two: 1 You have to. Everyone should be moral because it’s ordained by God, or basic human nature, or the universe. 2 It’s better for everyone if you do. Moral behavior makes society work, which is better for us all.

Old answers, good answers. Yet they aren’t the only ones around. In fact, a growing body of evidence suggests a different way of looking at the question. It’s not a new answer; in fact, it’s the one favored by ancient thinkers: moral behavior is good for your body as well as your soul.

When you give in to what’s faster, easier and more satisfying-steal that kiss, cheat that cashier-you’re like a person eating junk food. You might not feel bad right away, but, long-term, you’re compromising your health.

The key here-and the reason this last approach might make more medical sense than the other two- is that living with certain emotions and attitudes is bad for you physically. So moral behavior isn’t just one more stress-inducing demand. Instead, it might be a sort of cure.

"Negative, seething feelings cause stress which has a negative impact on psychological and physical health,’’ says Stephen G Post, PhD, of the department of bioethics at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. These negative states of mind-rage, suspicion, sadness, jealousy, a sense of worthlessness, to name a few-are not toxic in small doses. In fact, they’re necessary for a full life.

The prime example is the strong connection, worldwide, between equality and health. Societies in which some people are much richer and higher in status than others have shorter life spans than those in which most people are on the same social plane. This suggests that people who believe everyone is playing by the same rules have less stress than people who believe that Mr. Big can get away with murder while the little guy gets nailed every time.

As religions have taught for centuries, the best way to receive kindness from others is to be kind yourself. Helpful people get help, and good people tend to want to hang out with good people. There’s even evidence that we’re biased to find helpful, nice people physically attractive.

The Harvard Study of Adult Development has tracked hundreds of men for 60 years, from their college graduations through every step of their adult lives. It found that the longest lived among them share one trait: they are the most generous and kindly of the lot-the men most eager to give others a hand.

Throughout the decades this bunch has had fewer major illnesses too. Post thinks being good does more than just shape your outlook. It also leaves you less time to be bad. Your positive emotions force out negative emotions and that allows for an emotional reshaping. So, is it worth it to be moral? Ask yourself whether it’s worth it to enjoy better health, a longer life, and a more attractive image with people. We leave it up to you.
Del.Icio.Us Tags: The Character of Man?, Psychology, Human, Teens, Girls
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