Can Social Acceptance Encourage Immorality?

gog8tors said:
Yes, yes I know you think I took what you said out of context. That would presume that I didn't read the context to begin with. Which BTW would be a false assumption.

The fact is yes, many people were institutionalized because of neurological disorders, and mental disorders. However, as medicine, and understanding the body has evolved it has been decided that institutionalization of some if not all of these folks is wrong. Which is why there is also a lot of homelessness. Not just among our veterans.

You have compared the institutionalization of the mentally ill to the gender confused folks, and that is where I get that you either think deep down, that they are mentally ill, or you don't. Either way you are comparing a group (in the case of Epilepsy) that medication can help, to one that it may or may not help, depending on whether it is being studied as a mental issue.

The point (IMHO) of this topic is, has our acceptance of things that once were considered morally wrong been a determent to our society? The short answer is yes.
We accept and even celebrate the single moms. See all the FB memes.
Men are marginalized, and made to look foolish, or they are expected to be metro sexual in their dress, and mannerisms.
Divorce is encouraged for the slightest slight.
Marriage is undefined.
Click to expand...
Whatever.
 
Been thinking about the original question/heading:
"Can Social Acceptance Encourage Immorality?"

I like to know what the ground rules are when looking at statements. On the face of it, this looks pretty cut and dried. But, since I know most folks have different opinions, it became apparent to me that there are a few directions this could go.

1. Who defines what is immoral? What I think is immoral may not be the same as what someone else does.
* Teenage/out-of-wedlock pregnancy - not immoral but more a sad thing to me.
* Transgender, I have a personal problem with it - but also admit there is a lot that isn't known about it.
* Sexual promiscuity, swinging, multiple partners - once was very much frowned upon, now is more common place (but still considered immoral by some).

2. What level of acceptance is considered a social norm? An example would be the sexual promiscuity topic, which most folks consider the "norm." There are quite a few that don't. Not sure if this is a majority rules sort of thing or not.

My take is, the original question revolves around if most folks think something is okay, then it leads to more of the same behaviour. I would tend to agree with this, as "peer fear" is a strong detractor to what folks do (or don't do).

Caveat - there are people that will do whatever they want, no matter what others think.
 
ShoeDiva said:
Um, NO. I can not comment on a school related activity, that can be searched, or brought up that I said yeah or nay to something. Think about it, instead of being a jerk to me.
Click to expand...
OK, I kind of understand that. Maybe you'll tell me in a PM, just to satisfy my curiosity.
 
Good post, Mac.

And this is more support that it is "they" (they meaning those who want to change laws and societal norms regarding the listed issues) are imposing their beliefs on us; not the other way around.
 
ShoeDiva said:
Um, NO. I can not comment on a school related activity, that can be searched, or brought up that I said yeah or nay to something. Think about it, instead of being a jerk to me.
Click to expand...
Instead of one of the pageants you're involved in, how about the Miss America pageant?
 
The idea of using popularity as a measure of whether a certain idea should be accepted is scary. For example, interracial marriage would have been extremely unpopular at one time. Even now, there are still neanderthals who don't approve.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...ouple-evicted-from-trailer-park-a6968866.html
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/...ark-owner-evicts-interracial-couple/82469086/

I prefer a more timeless measure. Christians call it the "Golden Rule". Other religions may call it "reciprocity". Basically, treat others as you would like to be treated. To me, "immoral" hurts others. If I tell my wife she's the only one, but I have dalliances on the side, I'm immoral. If two horny teenagers have sex, it might be a mistake, but is it immoral? One poster seems to think I favor teen pregnancy, but that's not true. If two teens have fun, but no one catches anything and no one gets pregnant, I can't get too worked up.

I used to be extremely conservative. My trouble is that I kept asking "why."

The rebels and leaders in society are willing to buck what is accepted. The only absolute measure I see is the rule of reciprocity. If I don't want to be treated in a certain way, I shouldn't want others to be treated that way. MLK was successful because he didn't follow what was accepted in society.

Immoral behavior harms others. If I have sex with someone (male or female) who cares? Now, there are questions about single parents, whether by choice or accident.

So, when this topic started, how was immoral behavior defined? There were specific examples, but I question what makes these examples immoral.
 
There was a time when abortion was very unpopular, and mostly illegal. Are we better off now that we killed 311,000 unborn children last year in this country alone?
 
Guard Dad said:
There was a time when abortion was very unpopular, and mostly illegal. Are we better off now that we killed 311,000 unborn children last year in this country alone?
Click to expand...

There was also a time when interracial marriage was very unpopular and mostly illegal.

Majority opinion should not define morality.
 
Waski - I understand your concerns over "mob rule", but we have checks and balances in our system of government that eventually correct wrongs such as interracial marriage being illegal or slavery to go back even further.

But what are our other options? Using religion as a moral compass is not popular anymore. Letting government decide everything for us is pretty scary and potentially disastrous. Potentially even tyrannical if we allow it to go unchecked.

Regarding the issue of legality, I think that to some degree the majority must decide it, but through our system of representation in government. It's not perfect but it has some safeguards built it.
 
cptlo306 said:
You, me, everyone. It's different for everyone.
Click to expand...
That's a non-answer when it comes to the issue of legality.

I think most of us here are OK with a consenting adult doing pretty much whatever they want in their own privacy.

But when it comes to passing or changing laws, we can't have a different set for every individual. We must have a consistent and uniform standard.
 
Guard Dad said:
That's a non-answer when it comes to the issue of legality.

I think most of us here are OK with a consenting adult doing pretty much whatever they want in their own privacy.

But when it comes to passing or changing laws, we can't have a different set for every individual. We must have a consistent and uniform standard.
Click to expand...

I never said anything about legality. The question was 'who defines morality'.

Agreed that we can't have different sets of laws. Morality is obviously considered when some laws are written but it shouldn't be the primary basis for laws.
 
cptlo306 said:
I never said anything about legality. The question was 'who defines morality'.

Agreed that we can't have different sets of laws. Morality is obviously considered when some laws are written but it shouldn't be the primary basis for laws.
Click to expand...

Only God defines what is holy and what is sin in his eyes. Without a supreme being, there are no morals and our existence is no different than the animal world.

Think about this stuff, folks. From what source did man derive the laws that have been written?
 
cptlo306 said:
I never said anything about legality. The question was 'who defines morality'.

Agreed that we can't have different sets of laws. Morality is obviously considered when some laws are written but it shouldn't be the primary basis for laws.
Click to expand...
We've ventured off into opinions of morality, but the main gist of the thread is regarding the changes in laws rooted in morality. EX: the transgender bathroom issue, same-sex marriage, etc.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top