06-22-2003, 03:19 PM
Hi,
Government is grounded in morality.
This is simply a reflection that almost all cultures and religions share a core group of values. Thus in *many* (but by no means all) cases, what a given religion considers "right" will often be reflected in what a government considers "legal". That government is *grounded* in morality is both true and wrong. True in that most cultures including ours have a tendency to codify their unfounded prejudices into law. Wrong in that an opinion should not be made a law simply because a majority hold it.
One doesn't need the guarantee of freedom of religion to join the prevalent church.
One doesn't need the guarantee of freedom of speech to mouth the majority opinion.
One doesn't need the guarantee of freedom from persecution if one is of the dominant race, sex, or national origin.
The purpose of government as founded in the United States in the late eighteenth century is *not* to make the prejudice of the majority the law of the land but to protect the rights and freedoms of the minorities. That purpose, that ideal, has not always been met. The arguments that the poor, the blacks, the women, the working class, the immigrant were somehow inferior have each been knocked down in law and are, slowly, being knocked down in the minds of the people. Our history to our shame is not free of injustice and ignorance, but to our pride, it is a history of continuously moving towards that great ideal of equality in all ways for all people.
I don't need morals to believe that. I simply need a small degree of empathy. "There but for the grace of god go I" is sufficient for me to want for everyone the freedoms I want for me.
--Pete
Government is grounded in morality.
This is simply a reflection that almost all cultures and religions share a core group of values. Thus in *many* (but by no means all) cases, what a given religion considers "right" will often be reflected in what a government considers "legal". That government is *grounded* in morality is both true and wrong. True in that most cultures including ours have a tendency to codify their unfounded prejudices into law. Wrong in that an opinion should not be made a law simply because a majority hold it.
One doesn't need the guarantee of freedom of religion to join the prevalent church.
One doesn't need the guarantee of freedom of speech to mouth the majority opinion.
One doesn't need the guarantee of freedom from persecution if one is of the dominant race, sex, or national origin.
The purpose of government as founded in the United States in the late eighteenth century is *not* to make the prejudice of the majority the law of the land but to protect the rights and freedoms of the minorities. That purpose, that ideal, has not always been met. The arguments that the poor, the blacks, the women, the working class, the immigrant were somehow inferior have each been knocked down in law and are, slowly, being knocked down in the minds of the people. Our history to our shame is not free of injustice and ignorance, but to our pride, it is a history of continuously moving towards that great ideal of equality in all ways for all people.
I don't need morals to believe that. I simply need a small degree of empathy. "There but for the grace of god go I" is sufficient for me to want for everyone the freedoms I want for me.
--Pete
How big was the aquarium in Noah's ark?