My Moral Imposition Inquisition

The other day I heard an acquaintance of mine complain that "Republicans only care about forcing their moral beliefs down other people's throats."

Really? Let's examine this concept.

A moral is an ethical code of behavior or thought. Any moral can be summed up in an explanatory statement, such as, "You shouldn't kill, because it's wrong," or "You shouldn't steal, because that belongs to someone else, and it's wrong," "You should give money to the poor, because it's right." Do you notice anything in common? An almost universal hallmark is the presence of such words as "should," or "ought." They also cannot generally be supported or refuted to a significant extent scientifically. Such statements are called normative statements.

Let's take the use of seat belts in cars. The statement, "Use of seat belts decreases risk of death or serious injury in automobile accidents," is not normative. It doesn't use the words "should, ought," etc, and can be supported or refuted to a large extent scientifically, through the study of fatality and serious injury rates of automobile accident victims. However, if one were to say, "You should wear a seat belt," that becomes a normative/moral statement, because the premise is that physically dangerous negligence is wrong and you shouldn't engage in it. Notice that even in such a case as this, where the moral statement is clearly correct and backed by scientific evidence, morality is still a necessary ingredient thereof, and if a person were entirely devoid of morality, he could completely ignore the principle (granted, it could well lead to his demise).

Now let's return to the genesis of this blog post. There are many Republican leaders that have expressed the opinion that birth control is bad for society, and have said (paraphrasing) "We shouldn't use birth control." This is a moral, summed up in a moral/normative statement. None of them, however, have proposed legislation banning it. On the other hand, there are many Republicans that say, "We shouldn't use marijuana." This is also moral. Marijuana is also banned. If we were to continue to go down the list, we would see that Republicans are in favor of enforcing certain moralities, but not others.

In essence, my friend, cutting out the incorrect melodramatic rhetoric, was partially correct.

Now let's look at the Democratic side. What do Democrats stand for?

"Corporations should pay more in taxes!" "The rich should pay their fair share!" "Businesses ought not to work their employees too many hours per week without overtime pay!" "Bosses shouldn't pay their workers less than a minimum wage!"

Oh dear... what have we here?

If we were to continue, we would see that Democrats are in favor of enforcing some moralities, but not others.

Your Honor, I rest my case.

PS Libertarians are right. If it doesn't involve threatening the life, liberty, and property of other individuals and/or organizations, don't enforce it. Freedom works. Live Free or Die.