This I believe

How is one supposed to decide what is right and what is wrong? Do we draw upon our own experiences, what our parents taught us growing up, learning from mistakes we've made in the past, learning from other's mistakes, etc. Are we allowed to decide for ourselves what is right and what is wrong? Or is it based on rules and regulations set up for us by the society we live in?

I believe in order to have an accurate view of ethics you need to be an observant person. Someone who is able to take in the environment around them, at any age/time period/culture, and apply a universal set of ethics to any situation.

What Americans believe to be basic human rights are not always considered so in other countries of the world. For example, discrimination based on gender and race is still a major influence on people's lives in third world countries, as well as in other places in the world. While in America women are able to vote freely, it is not uncommon for that right to be restricted to only males elsewhere in the world.
Is it proable to insist that there be a global set of ethics? Can we come together as human beings, even with differences in cultural values, language, government, and decide upon a basic idea of right and wrong? I don't see why not. While the definition of "right" can be subjective based on individual values and belief, there should still be a broader sense of "right and wrong" that can transcend to any person age, race, or gender.
I think back to my first 20 years in life and I try to define what I think is ethically correct, and I find it art to completely articulate my thoughts. How do you explain to someone what is right when they clearly object to your opinion? I may think that shaking someone's hand is the appropriate thing to do when being introduced to someone new, but in another country that might be regarded as disrespectful. 
I believe that with all of the problems we face in the world today: economical issues, international relations issues, education policy, health care, natural disasters, a person's issues can and should be related to other people in the world on some sort of general standard. I believe that we can come together, as a people, and work to attain a global definition of right and wrong, and stick to it. I especially think this is true in our current generation with the increase in connectivity world wide via social media tools such as Twitter, Facebook, even things like email, news broadcasts, etc. It is easier now than it ever was for a person to connect to someone else in a completely different area of the world...so why shouldn't we come together and act as one society?

"My Ethical Standards Come From..."

So we all have those memories from being a kid where you do something wrong and you get punished by your parents. While trying to figure out what exactly I wanted to say in this entry I suddenly remembered something: The Oreo Incident. Growing up we kept treats (such as cookies) out of the reach of me and my brother in a cabinet above the microwave. It was well known that we were not to eat said treats unless granted permission. I remember one day I managed to get my hands on an Oreo or two, and of course I got caught. Instead of admitting to the crime I tried to weasel my way out of it. Naturally I was unsuccessful, and therefore had to learn the "lesson about lying".

While this may seem like a silly story, it proves that the lessons my parents taught me when I was younger have stuck with me even now. They helped lay the foundation for me to create my own set of standards off of. My parents taught me the basic lessons, kind of like "Ethics for Dummies", and then let me be free to make my own mistakes and learn other things for myself.

It's like anything in life: you learn best by experiencing something hands on. Your parents can tell you "lying to someone is wrong and will hurt the person you lie to" but you don't actually understand the meaning behind that until you witness it firsthand. Whether you are the person being lied to, or if you see the consequences of telling a lie yourself, the lesson is still the same.

I look at it like learning how to ride a bike. At first you start out with training wheels to get used to the bike. Then as you progress, your parents take off them off, and you have to readjust what you learned from the training wheels and apply that to your new situation. The lessons your parents teach you when you are younger are the training wheels for your own code of ethics, and as you go on living you apply them. This is how we go about creating our own set of standards.

While this may seem like an elementary level comparison I believe it shows how I've come about my ethical standards in the perfect way. Ethics don't need to be complex, they just need to be ethical. Since when did right and wrong become so complicated?

Code of Ethics Excerpt

"I will remember to find joy in life in the every day moments. Daily smiles and appreciation of the little things will truly be the linking devices as I move forward on my path. While ambition is my priority, I also want to give myself time for my hobbies. I’ve never liked this feeling of how the older we get the more of ourselves we are forced to give up. As children we’re active with excess free time to read, write, and play. Throughout the years we’re urged to sacrifice one thing after the other in order to give more focused attention to ‘the important things’. Sooner or later we become adults with full time jobs that extend beyond the advertised 40-hour workweek. We give up dancing, we give up reading, and we forget to see the smiles in our days. Morale wavers until the day we wake up questioning every move before that point because suddenly we aren’t individuals anymore. I won’t give in to the pressures of giving up what makes me who I am. Whether making time for a dance class, going on a run, people watching on the metro, reading alone in a coffee shop, or working in a new travel experience, I will incorporate my personal interests to my busy schedule so I don’t wake up one day as the president of an international corporation with no personality or intrigue. A youthful sense of curiosity is healthy and shall remain in my essence as long as I live."

A Poem - HONY

From Humans of New York

She asked if I wanted to hear a poem she'd written when she was younger. (At what age, she couldn't remember) She then recited it from memory. I had her repeat it several times so I could get all the words right:

"Were I to dream,
then dream I would
of days that have gone by.

Your eyes would gleam
and so would mine,
but joys remembered are no longer mine.

I walk in a garden of memory,
reliving the joys and the sorrows as well.
I walk with a cane down memory lane,
perhaps there, joys remembered will remain.

Perhaps when my hair has turned to gray
and my face is etched with pain,
I'll walk with a cane down memory lane.
Perhaps there, joys remembered will remain."