- Oct 31, 2012
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- #41
When we pass laws to pass moral judgments - that's where the conflict begins.My point was that laws are irrelevant to the topic. We can't say we're bad because we have laws (after all, can't laws be passed by bad people?), and we can't say we're good because we repeal laws (because we still have laws).We've had blue laws, too, and countless others that have been repealed.Ex: we have a law that says don't murder or we'll lock you up for a really long time because if we didn't have such a law, it would be mayhem.
Cuz laws are bad, see.
The US government passes some 40,000 new laws and regulations every year.
How bad must we all be?
Laws are a moral judgement. You say that one behavior is "good" and another is "bad".
And if we were inherently good, we would not need such laws, or at best, all we would need to do is inform people of the various laws once so they will abide by them. There is no getting around it.
But yes, bad people pass bad laws, just like Hitler which adds to my point. If they were inherently good, why did they?
Laws cannot take a moral side. Not even laws restricting murder, rape, and other violent crimes. In America, people have a right to life and liberty. These are the kinds of reasons for passing laws. If laws could successfully protect peoples' right to life, then no one would be murdered.
Morality is not an issue.
I think that when a society recognizes its social values, then it recognizes rights and then subsequently the morality of the individuals therein.
I disagree. I view laws as 100% a moral issue.
And history bears this out. Before slavery was outlawed the general consensus was that it was "OK" but not ideal. However, centuries after being outlawed it now seem morally repugnant.
Likewise, before Roe vs. Wade the general consensus was that abortion was immoral, but decades after Roe vs Wade people now tend to say that it is "OK' but not ideal.
We are moral lemmings. It shows how our morality is formed based upon perceived authority figures. For example, if the state says abortion is "OK" and your priest says it's murder, you will probably side with the one that you respect the most. Is it what God says or the state that dictates your moral views? I think most side with the state, at least, according to historical records seem to imply.