From: eyc@acpub.duke.edu (EMIL CHUCK)
Newsgroups: talk.politics.misc
Subject: Responsibility er,: Morality discussion
Date: 14 Aug 92 20:59:23 GMT
Organization: Duke University; Durham, N.C.

mpolen@gelato.mips.com (Michael Polen) writes:
:EMIL CHUCK) writes:
:|> Michael Polen) writes:
:|> +EMIL CHUCK writes:
:|> +
:|> +What the hell does one person's definition of morality have to do with
:|> +this?  You act like there is only one definition of morality, one 
:|> +definition of when life begins, one definition of how to be a "good"
:|> +person.
:|> 	My morality is based on people being responsible for their own
:|> actions. (I haven't described how I've defined when life begins at all in
:|> my posts, to the best of my knowledge. Nor have I pontificated about how
:|> to be a good person to any post that I've saved.)
:
:My point exactly.  Under some circumstances, some of us consider an
:abortion to be a much more responsible decision than carrying a
:child to term.  Your argument is circular, in that your morality
:is based upon responsiblitity which is based upon your morality.
:
:So my original question needs to be ammended to question the importance
:of one persons definition of responsibility.

Whew! I'm sure we're trying to hit similar targets here, but at least we
got that straight. Perhaps.
	Where I think I am: I have said a whole lot and am spinning
around like a top with this thread, so thanks Mike. Morality is the
ethic and discipline which governs my life, my beliefs in what I think
is right and what I think is wrong. This morality is what shapes people
into being wholesome, law-abiding citizens. Granted, I wouldn't want all
my moral beliefs to be law. That is what I meant by "I understand"
earlier. This morality though governs how I treat people, too. I think
it's not right to kill someone without provocation (which I hope is
universally accepted, which is why it's law), and I don't think it's
right to call women "bitches" (which I doubt will become law, even if
they "deserve" it).
	Taking responsibility is what I think has been missing. This is
simply being accountable and accepting the consequences -- bad or good
-- for any decision one takes. At times my feelings about responsibility
is intertwined with my personal morality (which I guess you can
argue shouldn't be legislated or imposed). I feel that you cannot
tolerate cheating on an examination, even if the cheater were your best
friend. Sometimes my feelings on being responsible concerns public
health and welfare (all the posts previously listed concerning abortion,
sex, and AIDS). Sometimes they're "family value" items (clean up your
room and wash the dishes << the latter also related to public health
>>). My problem is that no one is taking responsibility for what they're
doing whether they're incompetents in savings and loans to the
drive-by-shooters in Los Angeles and Washington DC. Even our government
isn't fiscally responsible on its budget. When one doesn't take
responsibility for screwing something up, someone else has to instead.
Now whether or not we like it, even if we don't want to "legislate
morality," we are unwittingly and unwillingly accepting the
responsibility of others' mistakes, no matter how innocent their
intentions were. We're paying for failed S&Ls (because other innocents'
monies were misused or invested in the wrong things), for failures in
the education system (through some welfare and some unemployment benefits),
and so on.
	What I prefer is that everyone be responsible to themselves,
letting their own moralities guide them. Unfortunately, some of us pay
lip-service to morality and go on charging ahead with no concern for
others. Government will not be moral if we do not expect it to be moral;
likewise, society cannot be moral if we don't expect it to hold some
moral standards at the very least. But overall, we expect our
government to be responsible without expecting ourselves to be as well.
Individually we are responsible for ourselves individually; as a
society, we are all responsible for each other or to each other.
	If a choice then is a personal, individual choice, the decision
comes from the individual when his/her actions are accountable to
himself/herself. A decision was made when two people consent and have
sex. The decision I assume is an informed decision between two mature
people. If one person does not concur, it is rape, and that one person
should not be held responsible for someone else's irresponsibility.
Whether I believe the decision is right or wrong is a question of
morality; responsibility must follow those actions whether right or
wrong.

-- 
Emil Thomas Chuck		DUKE BLUE DEVILS: 1992 ACC CHAMPIONS!
Biomedical Engineer 1993	1992 EAST REGIONAL CHAMPIONS!!
Duke University, Durham, NC	AND 1992 NCAA NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!!!
August 31, 1992 - May 16, 1993	Duke football? What's that?
Newsgroups: talk.politics.misc,talk.politics.mideast,misc.headlines