"Social Justice" vs "The Individual"?

[casinopete]

I am still unconvinced that anti-drug laws are purely moralistic rather than being an attempt to protect the safety of citizens.

But it matters no longer. There is no more need to argue, as I've thought of laws that are purely based on morals - the cruelty to animal laws/acts.

So, obviously, I retract my arguments.

[Pablo]

In my opinion, there are only two reasons that our current governments pass laws:

1. To gain votes
2. For someone's financial gain (not the voters)

A piece of legislation may appear "moralistic" on the surface, but it still exists for one of those reasons. I suppose there are laws passed occasionally for the sole purpose of exacting revenge on someone or some group, but that's probably rare.

[pikachamp]

i win!

[Vinny]

excerpts from Johnny Got His Gun, by Dalton Trumbo:

quote:

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Of course a lot of guys were ashamed. Somebody said let's go out and fight for liberty and so they went and got killed without ever once thinking about liberty. And what kind of liberty were they fight for anyway? How much liberty and whose idea of liberty? Were they fighting for the liberty of eating free ice cream cones all their lives or for the liberty of robbing anybody they pleased whenever they wanted to or what? You tell a man he can't rob and you take away some of his liberty. You've got to. What the hell does liberty mean anyhow? It's just a word like house or table or any other word. Only it's a special kind of word. A guy says house and he can point to a house to prove it. But a guy says come on let's fight for liberty and he can't show you liberty. He can't prove the thing he's talking about so how in the hell can he be telling you to fight for it?

No sir anybody who went out and got into the front line trenches to fight for liberty was a goddam fool and the guy who got him there was a liar. Next time anybody came gabbling to him about liberty--what did he mean next time? There wasn't going to be any next time for him. But the hell with that. If there could be be a next time and somebody said let's fight for liberty he would say mister my life is important. I'm not a fool and when I swap my life for liberty I've got to know in advance what liberty is and whose idea of liberty we're talking about and just how much of that liberty we're going to have. And what's more mister are you as much interested in this liberty as you want me to be? And maybe too much liberty will be as bad as too little liberty and I think you're a goddam fourflusher talking through your hat and I've already decided that I like the liberty I've got right here the liberty to walk and see and hear and talk and eat and sleep with my girl. I think I like that liberty better than fighting for a lot of things we won't get and ending up without any liberty at all. Ending up dead and rotting before my life is even begun good or ending up like a side beef. Thank you mister. You fight for liberty. Me I don't care for some.

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[Samadhi]

All that I see, absolute horror!

[Samadhi]

Belated as it may be, I apologize to Casinopete (and the whole GL for witnessing it) for being abusive. It was immature.

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A One that isn't cold, is scarcely a One at all.

[casinopete]

I thought we were just playing around. fnord.

Certainly at no point did I feel either offended or abused.

But if you feel it was a matter for apologies, obviously I accept, and offer mine in return - I really didn't think we were being serious, and hope I haven't offended.

[Samadhi]

Well, it was half serious. You did have me fairly pissed off. Glad it didn't come across that harsh.

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A One that isn't cold, is scarcely a One at all.