Morality isn't the law

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I'm tired of listening to people who hear 'this is immoral' say 'I don't think that should be illegal'.

There are many things which are immoral but which shouldn't be illegal.

Illegal means 'banned by law'. This is usually because of either an injust law - so shouldn't be illegal - or because it's something that can almost never be ok - eg killing someone.

Some things are rarely ok but aren't really a big deal in all honesty. Like for eg telling lies to people or cheating on your partner. Not nice. But you shouldn't get sent to prison over it.

And some things would be 'thought crimes' if they were illegal. For eg it's pretty sick to daydream about someone getting killed brutally. But unless you send that as a threat to them or you try to carry it out: it's just in your head and honestly? Probably more an intrusive thought from mental illness than a planned out thing.

And some things are case by case.

So the standard for 'isn't immoral' needs to be higher than the standard for 'shouldn't be illegal'.

Personally, i try and lead a life that fits with my own morals.
Although i imagine, some of the things i do (such as swear) some consider immoral,
while i do not (although perhaps best to refrain from if possible so as to avoid offending the people,
and to avoid any backlash).

I do not judge others, as it is none of my business, unless in some way I am involved.
In which case, if it is affecting my life, then I will have a say as to what I think is good.

Things out of my scope, are out of my scope. I don't go around policing the universe.

People have done all sorts of horrible things to me in my life, and sure, i was upset or angry at the time,
and in some cases, do not want to deal with these people ever again (as they do appear to follow a pattern,
that involves abusing me. Why would i welcome that again?.. like derr!)

but do i want to put everyone in prison? no.

Should it be law that i have to deal with them again. I believe no is the answer to that too.
I deserve as much freedom from abusers, especially if they go unpunished.

Otherwise, I may get myself put in prison for safety from the jerk offs!

I don't drink, dance, date, dab*, do drugs or dabble with destructive devices.

My moral high ground is so high, I'm basically Obi-Wan Kenobi. I'm also boring as hell...

I am a habitual, serial and unrepentant jaywalker*, though, which is often illegal, but not really considered immoral where I live unless danger is involved.

*For the record: I don't Vossi bop or moonwalk, either.

The morality police are the same ones who'd like to make homosexuality a crime (again), pass legislation to ban trans people from the public restroom of their choice, and probably wish interracial marriage was illegal again. They're the same people who beat everyone else over the head with talk of "family values," and a "return to American values." They are the enemies of the pluralistic society the rest of us appreciate.

Thanks be to G^D!!

I do not care whose "morality" is being touted, laws should be based on valid facts and functional reason; not superstition and personal "feelings".

They are likely the same people who go into a moral panic whenever it appears that minorities or women might gain the same rights and privileges that they have enjoyed for centuries.

A "Moral Panic" is a widespread fear, most often an irrational one, that someone or something is a threat to the values, safety, and interests of a community or society at large.  Typically, "Moral Panics" focus solely on people who are marginalized due to their race or ethnicity, class, sexuality, nationality, or religion in a society run by wealthy white Christian males.  As such, a "Moral Panic" often draws on traditional stereotypes and reinforces them with exaggerations, half-truths, and outright lies to inspire insurrections and riots against anyone who would bring about a positive cultural change.

I think that what is projected as moral these days, are simply developed by politicians (and people like politicians in journalism, entertainment industry, police etc) in order to politically assassinate their victim, which can be a way of taking out the opposition, or simply inflicting pain on the victim just for the hell of it (which can be a form of bullying, and if applied on a national level, fascism).

This is the great world that we have allowed to happen, due to allowing manipulative sociopaths in government and the press.

Freedom of the press allows the press to write practically anything they want. Its all very tiring and makes many of the newspapers worthless apart from their possible use as poor quality toilet paper.

Sadly, we cannot recognize a sociopath until he or she actively displays sociopathic behavior.  There is no physical characteristic that is a clear indicator of sociopathy; if there was, then we would be able to more easily recognize sociopaths before they get elected or appointed to public office, and much more before they have a chance to incite insurrection and organize a coup attempt.

Of that I have no doubt.

Knowing right from wrong by morals should be something everyone should understand by the time they are 25. Not because the law says its wrong or just because you won't go to jail for it.

And just because something is illegal doesn't mean it's a wrong thing to do because laws are not black and white. For example, I have heard of parents that have kidnapped their children because the judge failed to protect the kids from their abuser so the mom decided to take her kids and flee their home and state and change their identities so the kids wouldn't have to keep seeing their father who is abusing them. These things have happened before and when the mom is caught, she faces charges and goes to prison for it. Murder is illegal but what about when a woman can't escape her abuser so she kills him? I don't think it's wrong and I see it as self defense or he would have killed her eventually. Child abuse is illegal but what about when your kid is the size of an adult and they are trying to hurt you and beat you and you have no way of defending yourself so you hit them with a baseball bat or something, this should not be illegal and this is self defense.

... or the result of being a murder mystery author, as is Liz in our local creative writers group.

That's a thing I've never understood; for instance, name one person on this planet who isn't a member of the human race.

Exactly! But those cretins are too feeble minded to grasp that fact.

As a chaotic good character (I know, funny choice of a moderator ), I see very clear distinction between law and morality.
The purpose of law is to create desirable social environment. High-quality law is clear, objective, predictable and working as desired with minimal side effects.
The purpose of morality is to guide choices of an individual. It's often subjective, based on "gut feelings", nuanced, multi-faceted - and it should be like that.
The two interact but they're distinct entities.

The problem is that people don’t live their lives by the same moral code.

There are things that I do that I consider perfectly moral - but they would go against someone else’ moral code.

Sometimes people say “that’s immoral!” but often don’t stop to think about the fact that it’s immoral to them, but maybe not to others or the person doing the thing.

Maybe it's because I come from a lit background but I see that as just an opinion.

A decent opinion would be stacked up again with a 'why'.

Nothing wrong with giving a 'this is my opinion because...'

In literary analysis as with in moral analysis, people often forget (or in essays: omit on purpose because you're not supposed to say 'I' which is actually encouraging arrogance imo...) to place the words 'in my opinion' into things. But it should go without saying.

Problem is if you're someone like me whose anxious subconscious mind, not higher order mind but 'fear of being judged mind', internalises everyone else's morality. But that's a mental illness problem - we cannot dictate ethics based upon that.