This is stream of consciousness at 2am. I’ll re-read this when I wake up tomorrow and edit it if I see fit.
Ugh. Some of the posts in this thread (and to be honest a few other threads) make me cringe. Whether it’s people overcomplicating what should be a non-issue, people thinking they have a right to dictate how others live their lives, or people attempting to back up a weak standpoint with an even weaker corollary. Another thing I want to say with regard to this thread and other applicable threads… Give the “but the kids…” or “for the protection of the kids…” stuff a rest. Yeah there are kids who are screwed up or abused or who abuse others, but it’s sure as hell not because of the video games they play, the music they listen to, the movies they watch, or the television they watch. There are many kids whose parents let them listen to rap, watch gory movies, or even watch movies with nudity in them (you heard me) at young ages who end up being productive members of society. There (thankfully) isn’t one government mandated set of morals (unless you start reaching and find laws like don’t kill, steal, rape, etc. which are good rules, not morals). As long as I don’t break a law, you don’t have any right to tell me how I should live my life, or raise my (hypothetical) child. If you want to raise your kid differently than I raise mine, that’d your right as well. This whole “OMG why don’t you people have morals?!?” debate is a waste of time. I’m going to do my thing, David’s going to do his thing, Maddie’s going to do her thing (not that she was involved in the morality issue), Bharat will do his thing, etc. My guess is that morality was brought up tangentially because of religious reasons. Everyone has the right to worship whatever God or Gods they want to worship in whatever way they want as long as they don’t break a law. This also means people are free to not worship a God and be free
from religion. Therefore, they shouldn’t be obligated to adhere to the strict morality of some religions. As long as we nonbelievers don’t break a law, we shouldn’t have to go to a church, pray, bow towards Mecca, do whatever it is people do with holy water, be forced to avoid premarital sex, read the bible, read the 10 commandments, pledge or swear not to lie in front of someone else's God, be forced to stay in a marriage that is or already has crumbled, or other things that certain religions require above the letter of the law. In (my frustrated, tired, and possibly incoherent) conclusion, keep your morals to yourself and live your life however you want to live it, but as long as I don’t break a law don’t tell me how I should live mine. I can decide for myself.
Btw, the Segway in the video was amusing, but it wasn't that big a deal to me.
Jim,
I agree with you about the meter maids
