The harmony between speaking and doing, especially in moral aspects, is the biggest challenge for individuals who base their actions on ethical references, as well as for societies that maintain their cultural construction on the principles and values ​​that justify and project them.

The constant search for the implementation of these principles is the goal of these individuals and groups. Some people achieve this to a certain extent, as a result of a clear conscience and a vital practice that shapes and defines them as honorable and honest persons. Certain human groups also reach good levels, and this reality brings with it appropriate forms of coexistence and prosperity. However, both personal and group fulfillment carry with them the requirement of constant improvement, since they and their environment always have the possibility of improvement that requires the participation of all in order to achieve better results of collective coherence.

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For this reason, there is a clear need to work so that others, not only the individual, and not a certain state or society, develop ever higher levels of coherence with the moral foundations that sustain them. This is the task of humanity: to achieve a sufficient level of collective moral consciousness for consequential social and global practice. These ideas, related to education for moral perfection, could be summed up in the concept of global civility, necessary to guarantee life for all.

Many times, messengers are inconsistent in their personal lives with what they advocate or preach…

In order to influence the improvement of the degrees of coherence between what is done, individually and collectively, with what is said to be done, it is preached and encouraged to seek that synderesis, which is held to a greater extent by the best people at the individual level and some groups at collective level. For this, texts, doctrines, bodies of philosophical thought are created, which are adopted by their followers, and rejected by those who propose other referents of a moral nature. There are also messengers who externalize and defend the views contained in these messages.

Alignment between what is said and what is done

Many times, messengers are inconsistent in their personal lives with what they defend or preach, because they have never been able to see themselves as the subjects of a discourse conducted for others, but rather use it to advance and adapt to themselves. This has always happened and will happen. Examples of this reality can be found in politics – where lying is almost a feature of that activity -, in the economy, in religion, in education and in every social area that, having a moral discourse, is also withdrawn by acts that do not disrespect it.

The effect of this inconsistency is to weaken the message due to the errors of the messenger, who, when discussing the value of moral referents, is subject to an intimate search for cohesion with his claims. And in this, many times, the messengers fail, as the Dalai Lama did miserably and so many others have done. However, the message is still valid and challenges us all to this, probably the most complex, challenging and transformative quest. (OR)