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To: timm22; GatorGirl; maryz; *Catholic_list; afraidfortherepublic; Antoninus; Aquinasfan; Askel5; ...
Which do you think America stands for more; freedom or morality?

How can one have freedom withOUT morality? Name a modern amoral or imoral people who have been free.

220 posted on 03/28/2004 7:52:21 AM PST by narses (If you want OFF or ON my Catholic Ping list, please email me. +)
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To: narses
How can one have freedom withOUT morality?

Does morality necessarily have to be legislated?

I tend to believe that there has to be some common values shared by most people in order to live free. Things like respect for property or the rejection of violence as a means of getting what you want. I do not think these values have to extend so far as to the Judeo-Christian morality as commonly understood on this website.

As long as people do not violate the rights of others, they can be free and yet have different moral systems.

Name a modern amoral or imoral people who have been free.

Your challenge is difficult, as every people in every time have faced some restriction on their freedom. Also, by what standard do we judge morality? But, I guess I could offer Western Europe as an example. Relative to the rest of the world and to history, they are very free. True, most are social democracies and limit economic freedom in some ways, but the social democratic model has been in place there for quite some time. Compared to America, most of Western Europe has low church attendance and more relaxed views on sex and drugs.

224 posted on 03/28/2004 3:34:52 PM PST by timm22
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