Dear Friends,
It seems to me, law and morality are a totally different species, the one coercive and designed to limit humanity, the second is an acceptance of other and results in unchaining mankind. It follows then that what is moral is not necessarily legal and what is immoral is not necessarily illegal. Many people in their ignorance believe the two are the same. Law exists to limit people’s actions, outcomes and ideas, it uses coercive force to manipulate people and is at it’s root, a selfish desire to control others. Morality on the other hand, smooths the interaction of man with man, protects human dignity, makes the world a better place to live and is selfless. A society devoid of morality cannot function, regardless of how draconian the laws are, but a deeply moral society without law functions just fine. Law is the reaction of immoral individuals, who wish to be as immoral as possible, without destroying the machine of wealth creation itself, and so limiting others so society can function.
Law is passed by human beings for their own naked self interests. The proof of this is the fact that the elite routinely get away with breaking laws that you or I would be severely punished for, were we to break them. The State of Vermont for example, just fined a friend of mine for making less money. She changed jobs and so ran afoul of an arcane law that says a taxpayer must withhold 100% of last year’s tax liability or 90% of this year’s expected liability. She moved out of the state and took a lower paying job, so her withholdings were less than last years and since she made less money, her withholding also were less than what the state had projected, (expected) her withholdings to be… so she was fined. The elite, like Charlie Rangel, Tim Geithner and Hillary Clinton however, are never punished, even for major infractions of the tax laws or any other laws. When one is subject to a law and another is not, it can be said that the law is arbitrarily enforced, arbitrary enforcement is proof of arbitrary rule, arbitrary rule is proof of actual tyranny.
Morality is passed by God for the interests of all. While laws are passed… so a politically favored faction can get a leg up on an economic transaction, limit the potential outcome of people, control people’s behavior, punish a hated faction, etc… morality allows strangers to interact safely, helps economic activity, keeps children safe, defends our property protects our persons and creates harmony in society. Morality does not coerce, any negative consequences that come from immoral behavior are the natural outcome of that behavior. We all benefit when people are moral, we are all harmed when people are not moral. Morality is authored by God for the benefit of mankind.
Right laws are those that enforce true morality wrong laws are those that protect the interests of the elite. Laws against murder, stealing and rape are examples of right laws, laws controlling political spending, collecting rainwater, selling lemonade and keeping the workings of government secret are wrong laws. Laws that enforce morality are an temporal means of punishing immorality, but even they would be irrelevant in a truly moral society. Wrong laws exist to protect the privileges, power and prerogatives of the elect and make up most of the cannon of law in every nation, city state and kingdom that has ever existed on the planet.
The new class loves the old saw, “you cannot legislate morality…” because they seek to replace the normative effect of morality with the coercive power of law, laws that benefit them over the rest of us. The more immoral we become the more laws we will tolerate. The more laws we tolerate the more power we give to the elite. Corruption flows from the elite in society down to the people. The elite are the epitome of immorality in every way, but they don’t want the source of their wealth, power and privilege to collapse in the chaos that would result if everyone followed their examples, so they pass ever more tyrannical laws to keep the people, (us) from following them into vice. Unfortunately, like water, corruption cannot help but flow from the top down, and so no matter how draconian the law, when the elite are corrupt that society will become corrupted.
There is a huge difference between morality and law. It is important for everyone to understand this fact, Law is only as effective as the enforcement. Arbitrarily enforced, law is only a way for the few to control the many, for the benefit of the few. Morality is never arbitrary, it is self enforcing, since the negative outcomes are the result of the natural consequences of immoral actions. It doesn’t matter if the person cheating on her husband is the first lady, or a cleaning lady, if the immorality is discovered the negative consequences are the same. We all know what the basis for morality is, the golden rule, treat others as you would have them treat you. Law, on the other hand is the lead rule, he who has the lead, rules…
Sincerely,
John Pepin
