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To: Jack Black

I dont think all legislation is legislating morality. The actual functions of government - defense, law, infrastructure are morality neutral. We should leave morality to the people, not the government. Otherwise, one day some Congress we dont like will come along and legislate their morality.


54 posted on 12/18/2010 8:53:23 AM PST by Raider Sam (They're on our left, right, front, and back. They aint gettin away this time!)
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To: Raider Sam

No, all laws are rooted in morality of some sort. I think that if you present any law, I can show you a moral component behind it.


62 posted on 12/18/2010 8:58:12 AM PST by kosciusko51
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To: Raider Sam

Law and infrastructure are morality neutral???

Huh? We have LOTS of morality issues in our laws and in infrastructure as well....abortion or no abortion; child sexual exploitation or abuse or not; crime rackateering in the porn and prostitution industry; prostitution, etc etc.

Yes, free speech and choice are important...that does not mean we can’t have discussions and bring up issues or that we can restrict certain behaviors which are detrimental to society. its not that simple, but in a free society and one with a Constitution like ours, its not easy...but to have a decent society AND protect our Constitution is worth the struggles.


64 posted on 12/18/2010 9:00:29 AM PST by Recovering Ex-hippie (Ok....Joke's over...Bring Back Bush!)
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To: Raider Sam
The actual functions of government - defense, law, infrastructure are morality neutral.

These are all morality based. In fact, Moses dealt with what constitutes self defense as well as how and who is supposed to be in the military.

In law, the basis of debts, agency, property etc are all morality based and also the bible is the basis for most of what we base our fundamental ideas of fairness.

Finally, the infrastructure is a morality based construct. Arrangements from feudal systems, class systems, slavery, kingship's, constitutional systems are all based on an inherit understanding of morality.

67 posted on 12/18/2010 9:01:22 AM PST by Raycpa
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To: Raider Sam
You wrote: "I dont think all legislation is legislating morality."

Think about it some more. Lets take our most basic law: that against murder. Before the law came the morality - in our case the Ten Commandments and the 1000 years of Christian European culture that developed around that. As a result the morality was turned into law.

Other cultures have had very different morality, for instance Vikings saw nothing wrong with killing people from other races and taking their women, gold, and possessions. Headhunters in Borneo kill for religious purposes.

So, I will stick by my claim that all laws are based on morality. What would your example of a morally neutral law be?

153 posted on 12/18/2010 10:47:41 AM PST by Jack Black ( Whatever is left of American patriotism is now identical with counter-revolution.)
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