Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Some clarification

I think I ran around in circles a bit, and also dwelt only on a "left" issue in my last post, so I wanted to make an effort to say things a bit more simply.

What will follow is a series of statement pairs. The first statement in each pair is a moral judgment, the second a political view that corresponds to it:

"I believe everyone should have access to basic healthcare" and "I believe that the government should provide basic health care for everyone"
"I believe everyone should worship and pray to the Christian God" and "I believe that the government should sponsor worship and prayer at public schools and other government functions and facilities"
"I believe those who have been blessed with wealth should give to those less fortunate" and "I believe the government should tax those who have been blessed with wealth and give that money to the less fortunate"
"I believe that children shouldn't be exposed to violent television and video games " and "I believe the government should make sure children don't have access to violent TV programs and video games"

I hope you can see how, while the 2nd statement is always one that can follow from the first, none of the political views are mandated by the moral judgment. The 2nd statements are solutions someone might favor for the moral problem, and you can favor a different solution without starting from a different moral judgment.

1 comment:

Amanda said...

Smaller bites, easier to digest. :) hehe

I'm pretty sure I agree with you. :D