3rd March 2007, 9:37 PM
"My freedom to swing my fist only ends at the beginning of your nose."
Should so-called "victimless crimes" which harm no one be prohibited? (If you want to exclude hard drugs from that, feel free, but I don't under any circumstances condone the prohibition of substances which can be used moderately for the benefit of the users.) Should prostitution, gambling, and abortion be legal? How about suicide and euthanasia?
Personally, I feel that all of the above (aside from hard drugs, in which I am still undecided) should all be legal.
Prostitution: There is the argument presented that prostitution deprecates the female gender, and to an extent, I agree. However, I believe it's more deprecating to humans and their pursuit of happiness to restrict selling your own body. George Carlin had it right when he said, "Why shouldn't you be able to sell what you can give away for free?" Women should have the choice if they choose a lifestyle that's frowned upon by most of society. What if the money they would earn through performing consensual sexual activities on a person they know is disease-free would ultimately help the woman through financial troubles in which she appears to be out of options? What if it remained a skeleton in her closet? What if she knew the man? Why is "friends with benefits" perfectly legal, yet not "friends with financial benefits"?
It should be this woman's choice to hold sex on whatever emotional pedestal she chooses. If it isn't a big deal to her, or if she sleeps around to begin with, why does the added detail of money suddenly make it a moral taboo?
Gambling: I don't disagree with its legal status. I don't participate or care if people choose waste their money.
Abortion: It should be legal. Some people simply aren't ready to have children, nor should they be forced to raise it. Adoption? Sure, it's an alternative, but the child may still feel unwanted. The world is already over-populated. Why raise more god damn children when they're already too many? There's nothing beautiful about giving birth to a child. It does not make you special; mostly everyone else can do the same. Raising a child properly is special, and if there's a bad chance of this taking place, and if the parents are unfit, there's no reason to force them. I do not see the child as an independently living creature until it's birth (or perhaps by the 3rd trimester), and hence, don't see it as any more murderous than removing a tumor or parasite before then. Don't take that the wrong way. :D
Suicide/euthanasia: Yup. If someone really wants to die, and is in constant suffering, who am I to force him to live? He's not truly master of his own domain if I force my own self-righteousness upon him. I may disagree, but it's not my decision to make. On the other hand, someone who is mentally ill and at times DOES value life ought to be saved and helped.
There's a few ideas to mull over. What do you guys think?
Should so-called "victimless crimes" which harm no one be prohibited? (If you want to exclude hard drugs from that, feel free, but I don't under any circumstances condone the prohibition of substances which can be used moderately for the benefit of the users.) Should prostitution, gambling, and abortion be legal? How about suicide and euthanasia?
Personally, I feel that all of the above (aside from hard drugs, in which I am still undecided) should all be legal.
Prostitution: There is the argument presented that prostitution deprecates the female gender, and to an extent, I agree. However, I believe it's more deprecating to humans and their pursuit of happiness to restrict selling your own body. George Carlin had it right when he said, "Why shouldn't you be able to sell what you can give away for free?" Women should have the choice if they choose a lifestyle that's frowned upon by most of society. What if the money they would earn through performing consensual sexual activities on a person they know is disease-free would ultimately help the woman through financial troubles in which she appears to be out of options? What if it remained a skeleton in her closet? What if she knew the man? Why is "friends with benefits" perfectly legal, yet not "friends with financial benefits"?
It should be this woman's choice to hold sex on whatever emotional pedestal she chooses. If it isn't a big deal to her, or if she sleeps around to begin with, why does the added detail of money suddenly make it a moral taboo?
Gambling: I don't disagree with its legal status. I don't participate or care if people choose waste their money.
Abortion: It should be legal. Some people simply aren't ready to have children, nor should they be forced to raise it. Adoption? Sure, it's an alternative, but the child may still feel unwanted. The world is already over-populated. Why raise more god damn children when they're already too many? There's nothing beautiful about giving birth to a child. It does not make you special; mostly everyone else can do the same. Raising a child properly is special, and if there's a bad chance of this taking place, and if the parents are unfit, there's no reason to force them. I do not see the child as an independently living creature until it's birth (or perhaps by the 3rd trimester), and hence, don't see it as any more murderous than removing a tumor or parasite before then. Don't take that the wrong way. :D
Suicide/euthanasia: Yup. If someone really wants to die, and is in constant suffering, who am I to force him to live? He's not truly master of his own domain if I force my own self-righteousness upon him. I may disagree, but it's not my decision to make. On the other hand, someone who is mentally ill and at times DOES value life ought to be saved and helped.
There's a few ideas to mull over. What do you guys think?