Deciding on your own moral "code" to live by can be a difficult task. It helps to read the philosophies of those before us, however I believe it more desirable to form ethics of our own making in order to facilitate challenges of the modern world. I must not take credit for the influences of Existentialism and Stoicism.
I believe there are principles in which we must abide by to live a "good" life. The word "Macto" in Latin means to fight, to magnify, glorify, honour, slay. As tradition goes, most factions of ethics have a particular name. I have decided Mactoism fits the bill for my particular beliefs.
Equality
The most important human "law" must be fairness for all. To treat others as you would have them treat you. In order to maintain dignity and live a "good" life we must ensure all others have as many opportunities as ourselves. This effectively sets "the class system" as void. The challenge is to set others as your priority, above yourself and your own needs, even your very life must be put to the side if the situation calls for it. Each individual's life is worth as much as the next, despite wealth, quality of life, disability, group associated with or family status. No one is better than another. In the end we are all just piles of bones in the ground and we should take it upon ourselves to rise above petty childishness that causes terrible evil to be committed. To lead a "good" life, in situations that require us to save other people, we are obligated to put them first even if we should lose our lives in the process. Equality also includes other species and the environment that deserve respect. No one gets left behind.
Bravery
By following the human "laws", we must first be concrete in our beliefs and stay true to them unless we are called to a greater need that trumps our laws. If so, it is our responsibility to change our views accordingly after thinking deeply about what the changes require us to do. Despite all adversity, we must maintain our "self" by in-keeping with what we believe to be "good" and "righteous" and avoiding what we deem to be "evil", "unproductive" and "unnecessarily harsh". In order to completely carry out true equality, we require extreme courage to put other people selflessly before ourselves, especially if the process endangers our very lives. However, this remains a choice and if not chosen freely by the individual, the act becomes void and the "good" done is rendered nonexistent. This is also the case should the individual seek reward, profit or glory for their "good" act. The latter would be a worse damage on society and would bring great shame upon the individual that desired the idolisation. Living with courage and bravery and conviction leads to selfless love of others and that itself is "good".
Individual Development
As an intellectual species, we must maintain a certain "standard" of thought. We must aspire to gain further knowledge, deep wisdom and curiosity for the world around us to develop as "good" well-balanced persons. Possessing an impartial, unbiased mind throughout our lifetime enables us to fully induce equality and make quick yet right decisions. As humans, we are given a special ability to think, question and investigate with our powerful brains and to disregard this duty to ourselves and society would be deemed "unproductive". We are effectively protectors of our own progress and it is important to nourish our skills. We should strive to change the world around us for the better.
Endurance
With life comes both pain and joy. It is extremely important to accept the inevitability of one's death and to conquer the fear of such an end when it is impossible to stop. One should not be frightened by the prospect and in fact welcome it at the time it happens as the mind and essence is at peace. However, we must not squander our talents by indulging in excessive means such as food, drugs, alcohol and one must not become "reckless" or "foolish". These are deemed shameful and should be avoided at all times. Bravery must be contained in an appropriate fashion to ensure we follow the right path for the circumstances. Pain should not be feared but embraced as a typical symptom of life or payment for the ability to be alive. Pain and fulfilment are illusions of life: one does not exist without the other and death is our rest from fighting and enduring. However, one should not seek out pain deliberately to spite ourselves or others as this is unhealthy and damaging to our very unique essence. All those that do so should be treated sensitively but should not be shamed. To love our enemies, those that oppose us and those we do not know is the endurance of pain and difficulties of life and is perhaps the most admirable strength within an individual.
Honesty and Authenticity
To live as a "good and righteous" individual, we must be true to our inner essence. This echoes the principle of bravery in stablising one's beliefs and sticking to them unless a higher law demands evaluation of them. Living an authentic life, we must not relabel valuable things such as love, sex, family, friendship and having children as merely trivial. To stay honest to oneself and the rest of society, we must strive to reach our full potential and be our "full selves" or our true essence. Honesty in all acts must remain a priority and lies should be avoided if possible. This maintains us as "good" well-balanced people that will benefit society and the world by working hard to the best of our abilities.
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