Do you know Ed Earl? He's the character played by Burt Reynolds, opposite Dolly Parton's Miss Mona in that most wonderful of movies, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. In that movie Ed Earl is trying to keep the Chicken Ranch open and he gives this impassioned speech to the governor......
"I've been fightin' crime all my life but let's not confuse crime with committing a sin. You can't legislate morality. Those girls out there have never caused any trouble to anybody. They're healthy, tax-paying, law-abiding citizens who supply a demand and provide an economic asset to the community."
Now at the risk of whackin' a hornets nest, I've got to say I wholeheartedly agree. You simply cannot legislate morality. You cannot force people to be good. The idea of a "law" regarding a moral issue in my opinion is ridiculous. A moral person would never do it, and an immoral person isn't going to care one whit that it's illegal. For example, I, as a sane person, would never murder my neighbor for walking his dog on my lawn. Does it piss me off? Sure, but I'm not going to kill the guy over it. That would be immoral. Now lets say that murdering my lousy neighbor for letting his dog pinch a loaf on my yard was suddenly made legal. Am I going to sit on my porch with the 12 gauge loaded with deer slugs and just wait for that sucker to come by? I should hope not because even if it was legal, it would still be immoral. Killing somebody over a little dog poop is just plain wrong. Now if he is coming into my home uninvited with the intent to harm me or my family, that is another ball of wax all together. Is it still illegal to kill him?? You bet. There will be an inquest and all sorts of investigations and whatnot. If I live in the right state I'll probably get off with no charges, but it's still illegal. However, in that case, is it immoral? Not to me it isn't.
There is a headline in St. Louis right now that says.........
"Belleville woman sold kids' Christmas gifts for crack"
Hmm..........isn't crack illegal? I'm pretty sure it is, last time I checked anyway. Now, if the use of crack were legal, would a moral person steal their kids' Christmas gifts to get money to buy said crack? In my honest opinion, drugs are a moral issue and illegality certainly hasn't stopped the use of them. I'm not saying all drugs should be made legal, but making them illegal has surely not helped the people who are addicted. If the pull of drugs is so strong that you would steal from your own children, then you need serious help, not necessarily jail time.
Laws were/should be created to protect people from others. They should protect children and animals. I don't need a law to protect me from myself. Murder is, of course, wrong, rape, child abuse, animal abuse, of course all wrong. Gay marriage............polygamy.......smoking, alcohol, drugs................the use of seat belts............purchasing raw food products..............what I can and can't buy at the store? None of this has any business being legislated by our government in my opinion. If you are an adult or two consenting adults it is nobody's business what you are doing as long as you aren't harming anyone else. How do I feel about all these issues I just mentioned? Well that doesn't matter because they are moral issues and something you must decide on for yourself. For the record, I really don't care what you do as long as you leave me alone to live my life the way I want to live it. How I choose to live my life is between God and I and quite frankly it's no-one else's business. I'm an intelligent adult. I have the capabilities to make decisions for myself and I respect the abilities of other adults to do the same.
In closing, I'd just like to say this...............
We are born with free will. This is how God designed us. He is the Supreme Creator. He could have created us anyway He chose and He chose to give us free will. God wants us to be good and moral, but He doesn't force us. He wants us to choose right. If our Creator and Savior gives us the right to choose, how in hell does our government think they know better? How can they possibly think they can make the world a more moral place through the passage of laws? Please don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying we should throw all caution to the wind and have no laws. That would be anarchy. We need laws to keep the populace safe. We don't need laws to keep the populace moral. Morality must be taught at home. We
must teach our children right from wrong, and right from wrong can be subjective. I'm sorry and I know that may really honk some folks off, but it's true. I'm a very black and white person, but even I know that right to some is wrong to others. We don't drink. I have no use for alcohol and I hope that The Youngun doesn't drink. Does that mean I think alcohol is immoral? Of course not, it just isn't for us. In our home, Jesus is The Way, The Truth and The Life. I wouldn't want to live in a place where my right to that belief was taken from me. If I want
my rights preserved, then I have to fight for the rights of others to be preserved. Is it wrong to not believe in God?..........well in my home it is wrong, but if I want to be able to believe how I wish, and raise my daughter to have those beliefs then I
must respect the beliefs of others. How could it be otherwise?
As always during my rants, I must give you my disclaimer. I love a good debate and as long as you keep your comments polite, plenty of passion is ok! ;)
PS, The Man had to go into work at 1:15 AM because we are having an ice storm. After getting him off to work and laying back in bed, my little pea brain was a swirl with these thoughts and I couldn't get back to sleep until getting them off my chest.
I hope you are safe and snug this fine December morn!
God Bless....................
