[ExI] the law

[spike at rainier66.com]

From: Henry Rivera <hrivera at alumni.virginia.edu> 
Subject: Re: [ExI] the law

 

>…Perhaps the point to make is that morality and the law do not always go hand in hand. Laws appear more malleable and change over time. Laws are also used to oppress and in those cases have nothing to do with morality. Morality is hopefully principle based, for example harm-based morality would take the position of do no harm, or to simplify, if harm results, it’s immoral. That doesn’t always correlate with something being illegal. Haidt wrote a lot about moral reasoning in the 90s. 





 

Hi Henry,

 

Ja, in a previous post I used the example of atheism, but changed tracks and went off on suppose you have a church (I meant a religion (not atheism (which is not a religion (or is a not-religion.))))

 

Suppose you have a church and someone is protesting it, causing believers to fall away, etc.  There is an actual law on the books (I am not kidding) that makes it illegal to interfere with that religion.  Do let me make it clear: it is an imprisonable offense to interfere with the practice of a religion (it is entirely possible that only one person has ever actually been “convicted” of that (depending on how one defines the term convicted.))

 

This seems like a terrific money-making opportunity: I just declare worship of me a religion.  All of you, stop interfering with Spikeism, ye infidels!  

 

Oh wait, never mind, you would be laughed out of court unless you have money and followers, plenty of both.  Then you get to manufacture evidence.  I don’t have money and only one follower, me.

 

So what if… a politician declared himself a religion?  Assume he has followers and money, and assume we call him Hoerkheimer.  So why can’t people be convicted of interfering with Hoerkeimerism?

 

We have laws on the books still which can be used as weapons.  Occasionally they are.

 

I am against using the legal code as a weapon.  Bad things happen to good people.

 

spike

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