Would you have beaten your slaves to death?

Would you have raped your wife?

Would you have killed a man for insulting your family?

The first reaction is to say no, of course not. These things are heinous, not thought of as very acceptable nowadays. Think about it a little more. Embedded in the culture of another time and place, would you have done it? What if the prevailing values of the day thought nothing of it? How about then?

Astute thinkers often respond, sometimes a bit depressed, that yes, yes they would have. This is a very important lesson to learn. Your world has tremendous power to influence your value system.

But is is the last lesson to learn on the matter? How, exactly, did those social changes come about? While it is true that most people of the day regarded a slave's life as property, or a woman's sexuality her husband's domain, or a familial insult grounds for killing, there were people who did not. Some of them disagreed secretly and personally refrained. Others openly, challenging the cultural norm with rhetoric and public defiance.

Challenge the cultural assumptions of your time.

Refuse to hide behind the value systems drawn about you by your environment. Sure, be respectful of your culture, and good to its people. But if a situation breaches a deep moral intuition, look into it. Ask courageous questions about how your people view particular persons, places, or things. Attend to moral categories, little inconstancies in the classifications of beings, and the words used to describe marginalized groups.

The only realistic to the above hypothetical questions hinges on how you behave now. Do you go above and beyond the demands of your society to do good? Do you take stances to defend that which is weak or voiceless? Can you see through cultural values that violate deeper truths?

My advice? Rise above. Be fearless and meticulous concerning your actions. That way, the next time someone asks you if you would have owned slaves, you can confidently and accurately say no.