by Lucius Trae

Created on: May 28, 2010

Some people would be good without rules, and other people wouldn't. However, a person who acts morally when they "can" act immorally and free from consequence is, in my view, a better person. By having laws, we are prevented from the accomplishment of having done the right thing by choice. Can we really know for certain if we obey a law because of our character rather than a fear of punishment? It's difficult to argue that we can, but without the law, things are far simpler.

Of course, many people are unable to act ethically. In a lot of ways, our society teaches people certain values they deem as moral. Because of our many laws, we take action against certain injustices. However, many people think things are anything-goes in our society, and you can do whatever you need to do in order to get ahead. These people are more than willing to break laws when it's convenient because they've somehow equated acting selfishly with being moral.

Furthermore, it's difficult to claim people would not be good merely because laws don't exist. The response is "Why would people act morally if they weren't afraid of punishment?" They might care about other people - shudder the thought! Also, it's naive to presume the laws are incredibly effective. People have and do violate the law on regular occasions, and we are left with difficult choices to make. We can continue to devise more complex security systems that violate our civil rights, or we can start promoting values in society. Society encourages inconsiderate behavior to boost the economy through competition. Economies can be managed in a variety of ways, and there can be a balance between common decency and striving for success.

People drop wallets and they get returned in many cases. We all have our own views on what is moral, but many of those who would take the wallet have reasons. Some believe it's acceptable if they desperately need the money, and that might be true. Most people merely decide that morality is relative and no one can tell them their behavior isn't acceptable. However, I've never met a person who adopts a relativist position consistently. As soon as someone violates their rights or mistreats them, they are the victims of an immoral person who must be stopped.

I've met tons of people who are incredibly good. They wouldn't think about killing other people if the law allowed it. And if they did, they would think it's the right thing to do. Rules ultimately have to be based upon a foundation, and this should

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