You’ve undoubtedly met people who were steadfast in their morals and ethics. These folks held to their principles even if it meant that they’d lose out on potential opportunities or risk alienating those close to them.
The complete opposite of that are people whose moral compasses are shockingly weak: they’re so pliant that they’ll often work against their own supposed ethics if it means that they’ll benefit either socially or professionally. The social behaviors listed here are telltale signs that someone’s moral compass is as about as strong as wet toilet tissue. Be warned.
1. They change their ideology to suit whatever is in fashion.
I’ve read countless books and watched several films in which people purport to hold strong beliefs in a particular cause, only to turn their back on it as soon as things get uncomfortable or inconvenient. Usually, although this behavior is considered reprehensible by those around them, there are no negative consequences to their actions: those around them simply shrug and accept the fact that someone close to them became a turncoat at the drop of a hat.
In real life, you may find that a friend of yours is a die-hard animal rights activist one week and a massive proponent of the keto diet the following week, simply because they’re now dating someone who espouses the latter perspective. Or a person you know who’s always embraced aging with grace is suddenly botoxed into next year because they want to impress someone. They seem to adjust and adapt their beliefs to whatever behavior benefits them most in the moment, rather than maintaining the courage of their convictions.
2. They show the lack of their moral convictions in small ways.
How many times has a friend or partner told you that they’d take a bullet for you, or give you a kidney if you needed it? These sentiments are often cast aside when push comes to shove (often literally), at which point you discover that your so-called friend’s moral convictions aren’t as strong as they claimed.
Here’s an example: years ago, I had a fairly close-knit friend group that did everything together. One day, a group of men threatened one of my friends, and when I ran over to stand by his side, another friend of ours — who was always banging on about brotherhood and loyalty — fled the scene.
People like this usually talk a good game, but reveal their cowardice when the chips are down. This guy realized how disloyal and cowardly he was, and didn’t hang out with us again after that. He knew full well that we’d never trust him again now that he’d shown his true colors, and he had to live (alone) with the reality of his cowardice.
3. Their values are just for show.
Some people cultivate personas in order to be admired by others, but they’re completely different when they feel like nobody “important” is watching. For instance, my partner had a friend who cultivated a huge online following for her vegan lifestyle “brand”, but those closest to her knew that she was eating eggs and cheese regularly when the camera wasn’t on.
For people like this, their so-called principles are a huge point of pride for them, and they’ll pour scorn on those who don’t adhere to them as fervently as they claim to.
This is especially true in the social media fitness industry, where people claim to espouse extremely spartan diets or training regimes, but in reality, they’re often attaining their ideal physiques with the help of cosmetic surgery and either performance-enhancing drugs or dietary aids.
4. They come up with innovative ways to justify their poor behavior.
A person who has a weak moral compass will invariably find all kinds of ways to justify their terrible behavior. There’s always a good reason why it happened, and that reason is usually selfless, or puts them in a position of pitiable victimhood.
The one who abandons and mocks their friends to gain entry to a higher social strata is, of course, doing it so everyone will benefit: they’re only pretending to be mean so they can gain a foothold! Similarly, the person who seems to abandon everything they hold dear for the sake of career advancement is obviously only doing it to help their family: the new car, clothes, and trips abroad are just for show, of course.
5. They lie.
The weaker a person’s moral compass is, the more inclined they are to lie — especially if those lies are for the sake of personal gain. They’ll lie to potential employers about their education history while simultaneously boasting about their integrity; they’ll lie to their spouses about their work hours so they can spend time with teammates after hours, and so on.
Even worse, when and if they’re called out for being false, they show little to no contrition for having deceived others. They’ll simply shrug, say something like “yeah, you got me”, and then make it clear that they really don’t care: they were lying to get ahead, and anyone else would have done the same thing, right? Right??
6. They take credit for other people’s labor or efforts.
Most of us despised group projects when we were in school, and group work projects are just as bad. The worst part about them is that there was usually a slacker who didn’t do their fair share of the work, but then took credit if things went well.
A person with a weak moral compass in adulthood was likely the type who accepted credit in school when they did nothing to earn it. And they discovered that since nobody ever took the time to find out whether their efforts were sincere or not, they could do the same thing once they grew up. The lack of consequences for their poor actions taught them to take full advantage whenever they could, regardless of how their behavior might affect others.
7. They renege on their agreements.
I have always tried to see the best in people, and have often made the mistake of taking them at their word. This is probably because I grew up reading tales of the Age of Chivalry, and mistakenly believed that when a person gave their word, they’d keep it — both because of basic decency, and so they didn’t lose their personal honor.
Someone who has a shockingly weak moral compass doesn’t care much about personal honor. In fact, they don’t have much of it to begin with, and wouldn’t care if they lost more in other people’s eyes. They’ll agree to whatever they need to to get ahead, then break faith and renege on whatever they’d promised if that action no longer serves them, or might inconvenience them in some way.
8. They treat others as tools or stepping stones for their gains, not as actual people.
Those with strong morals and ethics appreciate and care about people as individuals, not for whatever use they may serve in their lives. When they befriend a person, it’s because they’re drawn to them for who they are, and want to cultivate a close kinship with them in time, as trust grows.
In contrast, those with weak morals see every person they encounter as a potential tool or step stool to reach their personal aims. If someone they meet isn’t going to be useful to them for one reason or another, they won’t waste their time on them. Then, when they come across the right tool for the job, they’ll turn on the charm and make that person believe that they actually care about them, when the reality is they’ll be discarded as soon as they’re no longer required.
Final thoughts…
We each have a moral compass that helps us navigate through life, helping us choose between right and wrong. As such, a person with a weak moral compass doesn’t get that strong jab of conscience when they consider acting in an unscrupulous manner. Instead, they get an internal feeling of “meh, if it means we get what we want, it can’t be that bad”.
Imagine what a wretched world it would be if everyone followed this line of thought rather than acting with integrity and decency instead.
