Saturday, July 28, 2012

DOES ANYTHING MATTER?

Imagine a world with no laws and no values.  Everyone is free to do anything for which he is willing to accept the consequences, that is, unless he's the top dog and there are no consequences.  Do you want that kind of world?  My guess is that you don't.

For a large group of people to live together peacefully, they must agree upon certain standards of behavior.  The more they agree, the more peaceful the society.  Some diversity is good but large differences lead to discontent.  Tolerance for deviation is limited and must have little affect upon the general population.  There are many things we can tolerate which we ourselves would not approve of but are willing to allow others to do as long as they don't try to compel us to believe they are "acceptable" for everyone.
What matters to me may not matter to you and the other way around.

What difference does it make for you if you do something I do not approve of as long as you are free to do it?  What difference does it make for you if I do something you do not approve of as long as it doesn't affect you?  To believe that individuals with different concepts of right and wrong must be mortal enemies is to admit societies cannot exist.  The essence of freedom allows many types of behaviors as long as they do not intrude upon others' rights.  When these rights collide, we must all be willing to accept the judgement of the majority on which right is more important, otherwise, violent solutions will destroy us.



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