08-25-2004, 04:47 AM
I wouldn't blame religion, per se, but those that want to impose their beliefs on others. There are extremists on all sides as well. You might not believe that I should have the right to own a gun, for instance. I'm generally against those people who are anti-freedom. The common arguments are; "For the public good", or "because it is wrong or immoral".
More to your point; the "Bill of Rights" was an outline of rights specifically protected by the Constitution. Prohibition was the exception and an obvious mistake. Abolishing slavery was more establishing the "all persons are created equal" -- so slavery is unconstitutional. So in a way, abolishing discrimination (ala 14th amendment equal protection) is a similiar noble goal.
To me it seems that the problem is in the definition of morality, and how much morality should be enforced by law. We can all agree about the extremes. It's when it gets down to victimless topics like nudity, sexual acts in public, spitting on the sidewalk, pornography, consumption of drugs, prostitution, etc. -- that many get confused and want to enforce belief systems. Until recently, people extended homosexuality into that slippery slope of finer shades of morality stepping into belief systems codified into law. It's pretty clear now, even to the courts in the most extreme states, that homosexuality is not illegal (which for some southern states, was not that long ago).
I agree that its time we started to push morality out of the laws when it comes to personal decision making. Take prostitution, or marijuana as an example. I believe it should be legalized, but I've never used either and I don't imagine I would in the future. I would not encourage anyone to use them, but its a freedom that I don't think the government should prohibit.
Too much of our government is devoted to preventing people from failing (or succeeding really), even when people try really, really hard to do just that. They would prefer you would just be content with your average existence, pay your taxes, and cause very little trouble.
More to your point; the "Bill of Rights" was an outline of rights specifically protected by the Constitution. Prohibition was the exception and an obvious mistake. Abolishing slavery was more establishing the "all persons are created equal" -- so slavery is unconstitutional. So in a way, abolishing discrimination (ala 14th amendment equal protection) is a similiar noble goal.
To me it seems that the problem is in the definition of morality, and how much morality should be enforced by law. We can all agree about the extremes. It's when it gets down to victimless topics like nudity, sexual acts in public, spitting on the sidewalk, pornography, consumption of drugs, prostitution, etc. -- that many get confused and want to enforce belief systems. Until recently, people extended homosexuality into that slippery slope of finer shades of morality stepping into belief systems codified into law. It's pretty clear now, even to the courts in the most extreme states, that homosexuality is not illegal (which for some southern states, was not that long ago).
I agree that its time we started to push morality out of the laws when it comes to personal decision making. Take prostitution, or marijuana as an example. I believe it should be legalized, but I've never used either and I don't imagine I would in the future. I would not encourage anyone to use them, but its a freedom that I don't think the government should prohibit.
Too much of our government is devoted to preventing people from failing (or succeeding really), even when people try really, really hard to do just that. They would prefer you would just be content with your average existence, pay your taxes, and cause very little trouble.
”There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy." - Hamlet (1.5.167-8), Hamlet to Horatio.
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