The Canyon Between Ideals and Reality: Manmade Morality, Ethics, and the Machinery of Order

We are raised to believe in justice. We are taught that our laws are fair, that our institutions are moral, and that those who enforce them do so in the name of peace, truth, and righteousness. But beneath that surface lies a deeper truth:

There is a vast canyon between the manmade ideals of ethics and the lived reality of human systems—a canyon carved not by chaos, but by deliberate design.

Our Morals Are Manmade—and Ever Shifting

We often treat morality as if it were timeless, universal, or divinely ordained. But in reality, our morals are human inventions, shaped by history, culture, religion, and power. What one era considers virtuous, another may condemn as barbaric.

• Slavery was once a moral institution in many societies.

• Patriarchy was considered a natural and moral hierarchy.

• Colonial domination was framed as a moral duty to civilize.

These were not universal truths. They were products of specific human contexts, reinforced by social norms and enforced by power. As our civilizations change, so too do our moral frameworks. They shift with the Overton window—the boundary of what is socially acceptable—proving that morality is not a constant compass, but a reflection of what those in power find tolerable or useful at a given moment.

Ethics: Our Self-Made Mirror

If morality is the lived code, then ethics is the reflective lens. But make no mistake—our ethics, too, are manmade. They are the philosophical systems we invent to justify, critique, or reform the moral codes we live by.

Whether utilitarian, deontological, or rooted in virtue, ethical systems are not divine revelations—they are frameworks authored by thinkers wrestling with the tension between ideals and actions. They exist not as immutable truths, but as tools of human critique.

And in that sense, ethics does not describe the world as it is—it demands we confront what the world should be. It challenges the moral orders handed down to us and asks: Who benefits? Who suffers? What are we pretending not to see?

Law and Order: Protection of System, Not Self

If our morals are inherited and our ethics constructed, then our laws are the bluntest instruments of all. Law and order are not moral absolutes—they are engineered mechanisms designed to preserve the integrity of the system.

Laws are written to protect the stability of society, not necessarily the dignity of the individual. The legal system does not exist to embody justice—it exists to regulate behavior, preserve hierarchy, and prevent disruption. The individual is protected only insofar as their protection supports the broader order.

Policing, likewise, is not a pursuit of ethical truth—it is a practice of enforcement. Police do not exist to weigh moral nuance; they exist to maintain control. And “control” means the preservation of the system as it stands, regardless of the moral questions that system might provoke.

Power Demands Exceptions, Ethics Demands Consistency

This is where the canyon deepens.

Manmade ethics seeks universality—a sense of fairness and right that applies equally to all. But systems of power thrive on exceptions—the ability to break their own rules when convenient.

Ethics says: *No person is above the law.
*Power says: Some people must be, to preserve order.

In every age, we see how ethical ideals are sacrificed to protect institutional power. Surveillance, detention, war, censorship—all justified “for the greater good.” But whose good is being protected? And at what cost?

Legal ≠ Moral: The Weaponization of Legality

Another dangerous conflation in our society is the belief that what is legal is also moral. But legality is a reflection of what those in power have agreed to codify—not what is right.

• Apartheid was legal.

• Child labor was legal.

• Internment cands, forced sterilizations, and racial segregation—all once backed by legal authority, no matter how immoral they now appear.

Our laws are not safeguards of justice—they are expressions of the moral convenience of the time. And often, they serve not to protect the vulnerable but to manage them.

The Individual in the Canyon

Caught between the high ideals of manmade ethics and the cold machinery of law is the individual. Conscience may cry out, but the system grinds on. Even when people recognize injustice, they feel powerless—outnumbered by institutions, outmaneuvered by bureaucracy, and outgunned by enforcement.

Yet in that canyon—between what is and what should be—lies the potential for transformation.

This is where rebels, reformers, artists, and philosophers emerge.
This is where truth survives propaganda, and ethics regains its teeth.
This is where ideals are not abandoned, but sharpened into tools of resistance.

Manmade Ethics as a Tool of Confrontation

If we understand that our ethics and morals are manmade—not handed down from heaven—we gain something powerful: the right, and the responsibility, to remake them.

Ethics is not about conformity—it is about confrontation. It is not the language of the ruling class—it is often the whisper of the oppressed. Ethics lives in resistance. It breathes in questions like:

• Why should I obey this law?

• Who benefits from this moral code?

• What do we call “order” that rests on suppression?

Naming the Canyon, Bridging the Divide

Recognizing the canyon between our ethical ideals and societal reality is not defeat—it is clarity. It is the beginning of a more honest politics, a more grounded morality, and a more intentional pursuit of justice.

We must stop pretending that our laws are sacred, that our morals are timeless, or that our systems are neutral. They are all manmade—and therefore, challengeable.

Ethics—ours, if we are brave enough to claim it—is not a mirror of power. It is the light we hold up to it.