Why do people think the laws are perfect?

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chuckman1

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Jan 15, 2009
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Thespian said:
I think a better question is why do people think the laws aren't perfect, but they can do better. They. Alone. Their opinions > Democracy. Greeeat.

And no, of course laws aren't perfect. I don't think anyone posits that they are.
Idk where you live but I live in america.
America is NOT a democracy our laws are made by a small group of people called congress that can easily have their votes bought and often have no idea about what the issue truly is (see sopa and how nobody in congress used a computer in their life)
So yes I do feel i could do better than a small group of out of touch people, although I wish we had a democracy.
 

Benny Blanco

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Jan 23, 2008
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Some definitions of words which people bandy around (for the easily confused):

Law: "the system of rules which a particular country or community recognizes as regulating the actions of its members and which it may enforce by the imposition of penalties"
Morality: "the code of behaviour that is considered right or acceptable in a particular society"
Ethics: "principles that govern a person?s behaviour or the conducting of an activity"

Note that the three overlap but are not the same.

Democracy: "2 Wolves and a Sheep voting on what to eat for dinner"

Not that it isn't the best system we have, but there are a lot of interest groups which stop things which are ethical from becoming law, or even things which are moral, given that legislative representatives don't always have the balls to make a decision which will be popular with a strategically important demographic.

I don't want to get into the "is not!" "is too" arguments about cannabis, but as far as I can see, the position is this:

Law: My government has the power to incarcerate me for possession of a non-toxic dried plant. As in many other countries, this began for reasons connected to racism and industrial interests, as well as wartime legislation specific to the UK which was never phased out in peacetime.

Morality: Societal opinions are divided about the dried plant, with many believing it is a universal panacea, some believing that it's the cause of all social ills and most people falling somewhere in the middle.

Ethics: If I cause no harm to anyone else, I can see no reason why I cannot make a decision as an adult to ingest or inhale a dried plant, much less the justification for inflicting a greater harm on me as a penalty or discouragement to do so.

Veering away from the argument about cannabis (where people tend to have the kind of opinions that discussions like this don't do much to change) let's look at slavery, which I think people tend to have a more general agreement on.

Prior to 1800, slavery was legal in both the US and the British Commonwealth.
It was also largely accepted by society in those countries, although some groups did object.
It was as unethical then as it was now.

Do you see the distinctions? Do you understand why laws have to change over time?