by Adam Mcculley

Created on: May 03, 2008

To fully grasp the notions of morality and government, one need look only as far as a high school history book. Civil law, in it's current form is based upon the moral standards of the nation. The notions of separating morality and government are not reasonable enough to be considered in any logical context. Do not steal, do not hurt or kill others, practice your business trades with integrity, living up to a pre-established standard. These are all moral laws, necessary to ensure the safety and well being of any country. An amoral government is a frightening thing; heres where that book comes in handy. Many great nations and empires had a sort of "if it feels good, do it" mentality. The results were universally tragic and horrifying. The oft-lauded Romans were a fine example. Sure, they were forward thinkers for their time, but a great many Caesars and senators eschewed morality, and opted to answer the plebeian cries of "Bread and Circuses!". The result was thousands of men and women, tortured and murdered for entertainment, endless conquest and warfare, for nothing other than spoils and glory, slavery, oppression, treachery, betrayal, murder, etc... That might be a bit of a dated example, but it holds up, nonetheless. Going back to our book, we find generations of European Autocrats, all holding complete authority, all not bound by any moral standard. The results were the same. More death, more suffering. Believe it or not, it took a despot by the name of Napoleon to actually give greater Europe a taste of universally applicable laws. Laws that were actually created to fit a moral standard, not the whims of a king or his subjects. Mr. Bonaparte, never got any real credit for trying to establish his Napoleonic code, but hey, history is written by the winners right? My point is, we do not exist in a vacuum. We have a few millennia of human experience and wisdom to draw upon. History tells us, that without a moral standard guiding the actions of government, the people suffer in spades.

furthermore, America is especially neat-o because the standards of our leaders are supposedly a reflection of ourselves. We elect the men and women best suited to represent our needs, both civil, and moral. If your moral system is not being recognized, it is up to the citizens to raise awareness and make a change. If you lose at the polls, you don't cry foul, and try to throw the baby out with the bath water, thats good old childish, poor sportsmanship. You keep at it until you

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