Ignorance of the law is no excuse (where common sense is not concerned)

1) I don't see how your continued insistence on white middle class patriarchy being the norm for common sense, which you have equated to values/ethics, is helping your argument. Within your model for common sense any individual who was raised with a different set of ethics/values would be more likely to be arrested or to commit an unacceptable act. By insisting that common sense is judged through the ethics of one group you are insisting that minorities are unethical! It is your very logic that creates racial profiling: arresting or suspecting minorities because they are outside of a white cultural norm. The US is a melting pot that mixes hundred, thousands even, of different cultures under one government. This is why the law is not based on ethics or "common sense," because it varies from culture to culture and all cultures have the right to freedom in this country which includes the freedom of making their own "common sense" (ethics). You cannot insist that individuals be held accountable for following common sense unless you eliminate freedom of beliefs. Citizens of the US have the right to belief in any values, ethics, morals, or common sense that they want to! You absolutely cannot claim that there is some standard (set by a race or class) by which all others are judged, this is what is called discrimination: you have literally called any race/class outside of white middle class "outcasts" and "not functioning member(s) of society." The entire premise of "common sense" is illogical and flawed in a multicultural society. Also, you failed to respond to my point about how your expectations are unfair. "Common sense" is not recorded in any official book or record, it is not taught in any school in the country, and no one voteson or discusses the validity of it. Common sense is just a set of shared values that changes arbitrarily. How can you fairly expect someone to follow them? And then, how does that expectation make any sense when compared to your assertion that individuals shouldn't have to follow laws that ARE debated and recorded and taught in schools? The fact is there are people who are ignorant of common sense just like some are ignorant of the law, so why ignorance of the law okay but not ignorance of common sense? The law is the same for everybody, but even you have recognized that common sense is not. 2) Laws are not created to uphold any specific ethic or common sense. Laws are created to protect citizens' rights and to protect society. US citizens have the right to property = it is illegal to steal. Consider that it is "common sense" that lying is wrong, but it is not illegal to lie, because simply lying does not damage anyone's rights or society. However, it is damaging to society/rights when people commit fraud (paper lying) so therefore, it is illegal. Once again you have said something that supports my argument: "Common sense is no alternative to a written code of law" This is exactly what I am telling you: common sense cannot replace law at all, people must be brought to justice for violating the law whether they know the law or not and common sense has nothing to do with it. 4) I am surprised that you do not see that you are agreeing with me here. You claim that a serial killer has no excuse not to understand common sense (even though it is fact that he doesn't) because he is a member of society; therefore, he must answer to justice. You are repeating my own argument! Criminals have no excuse not to know the law because they are members of society! This assertion works even better than yours though, you know why? Because the law is a public document! Anyone at any time can look it up and we even have a system in place to change it if enough people are angry about it. Common sense has neither of these! Final Note #2: You cannot tell me to answer my own argument, that is YOUR job. I presented two flaws with your argument: the burden on the justice system, and the lack of punishment done for crimes committed. You still have not presented any explanation for these flaws. You must concede these two points to me if you are not going to address them.