Friday, May 14, 2010

'Right and wrong' vs. the majority of life

'Right and wrong' vs. the majority of life

There is right and there is wrong; there are no "gray areas". However there are a lot of areas, the vast majority of our lives, in fact, that have nothing whatsoever to do with right or wrong. They lie completely outside the rather small realm of "right or wrong".

It is not "right" or "wrong" to walk across the room, nor to smoke some pot, nor to read a book.
If you are doing one of those things instead of something you should be doing, such as rescuing an innocent person in the room with you who is being attacked by killer chihuahuas, then you are doing wrong, but not because of what you are doing; rather because of what you are not doing.

The mere fact that you are "breaking the law" is no indication of whether you are in the right or in the wrong. That depends completely on whether the "law" you are violating has a foundation in prohibiting aggression, theft, or fraud. It is wrong to do those things regardless of the "legal" landscape, because as long as you are not initiating force, theft, or fraud the "law" has no legitimate say in what you do. For "the law" to pretend it does makes "the law", and those who advocate, write, and enforce it, the ones in the wrong. Are you, by your actions, harming any innocent person in any real way?

I am amazed by how many people don't get this. It is not wrong to be "dogmatic" and recognize this truth. In fact, to act as though this truth is unimportant can contribute to you acting in ways that are wrong. It can even lead you to support acts and policies that are evil.

Most people who argue for "gray areas" seem to do so due to a desire to do wrong, or support it, without feeling bad about it. They want to approve of torture, theft, aggression, and countless other things that an admission of "right or wrong" would put them unequivocally on the wrong side of.

Standing up for ALL rights for EVERYONE, EVERYWHERE, at ALL times is right. Finding ways to weasel your way into imaginary "gray areas" exposes your failure to be consistent and puts you in danger of being wrong.
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The Albuquerque bank robber (oops- "alleged bank robber") who crashed his car into a vehicle, killing its two occupants, while fleeing pursuing LEOs, has been charged with robbing the bank and killing the two women. And the LEOs, without whose "public-endangering" pursuit the crash likely would never have happened, escape consequences. "Public safety", in a pig's eye. With "help" like this, we are better off on our own.