Free essay about thinking process: applying moral values to a moral dilemma

I have found myself in several moral dilemmas, and I had to rely on my moral beliefs in order to make a firm decision. Sometime back, while doing some shopping at the local supermarket, I passed by the baby products section and accidentally brushed by some baby oils. One of the bottles fell on the floor and rolled under the shelf. No one was insight, and no one saw what I had done. I decided to continue with my shopping. I moved around and coming back to the same shelf, I found some oil was flowing from under the shelf. First, I reached under the shelf and got the bottle to stop further spillage. I thought of alerting the attendants to wipe the oil off the floor so that it would not cause a fall as shoppers moved around. However, before I called an attendant, I thought of the questions the attendant might ask. I presumed that he would ask whether I was responsible for the bottle’s fall. In case, I claimed responsibility I feared that he might ask me to pay for the oil assuming that I had deliberately messed up. I did not have extra money to pay for anything else outside my budget yet I wanted to act right.
While standing at the same spot, I weighed the pros and cons of each of the actions I had in mind. My moral beliefs guide me to act in a manner that does not cause or pose a danger to other people. Care and concern are some of my cardinal moral values. The conviction to act with care and concern is especially strong when the people who stand to suffer are innocent and may comprise of the elderly, children, or the disabled. I had to have the oil off the floor within soonest time in order to satisfy my moral convictions.
I pondered over whether to wipe the floor myself or call the attendant. In case, I left the position to search for something with which to wipe the floor, I would have exposed people to the danger I dreaded. My desire to act with care and concern was overwhelming, and I sent one of the shoppers to call an attendant. I hoped that the attendant and the supermarket management would understand my predicament as having emanated from an accident and not malice. By calling an attendant and explaining the situation, I would have upheld two more moral beliefs; responsibly and accountability. I believed that the attendant would be in a position to acknowledge that I had exuded these moral values by being truthful with him. This would in turn, cause him not to charge me with intentional damage or malice.
The attendant soon came and wiped the oil of the floor. Before I explained to him that I was responsible for the spillage, he congratulated on my concern. I appreciated his comments but quickly explained what had happened. He never suspected me of anything malicious as I had imagined. Instead, he explained that they expect such things to happen in self-service stores and that the management always accounted for such losses. With a simple word of caution to avoid such incidents in the future, the attendant allowed me to proceed with my shopping.
In all, I had resolved my moral dilemma in the best manner possible. My moral code was well grounded, coherent, and consistent with the expectations of the dilemma.