Selective Morality

Joe and I were talking this morning over a cup of joe coffee about a gun incident in a local business yesterday. That lead to a discussion about police (both the positive and the negative) and then to selective morality, the law, and the government.

A few examples:

Speeding - at what point do you feel the need to back off, and is it because of the law, the fine, or the danger?

Taxes - would you pay or take cash in a business deal to avoid paying taxes?

Retail - if a cashier gives you too much change, will you make an effort to give it back? How much effort would put into giving it back if you did not tealize their mistake until you were home?

When is it okay to lie? Is it okay to lie?

Cell phone use in the car...

This could go on all day.


And ecology questions could go on all day too. When I ask these questions of myself, I often come up lacking.

I drove to work this morning in my small pickup. The weather was cold but very clear - little wind and no precipitation. The heater blowing on my toes felt pretty wonderful. I have a perfectly capable bicycle in the garage and there is a bus route near my house that goes very near work. I know without a doubt that burning gasoline is destroying our ability to survive on this planet, and it is happening at an alarming rate. But my toes are warm and my bones ache less than they would have.

I occasionally regularly purchase drinks in styrofoam cups.

I am pretty lazy about recycling paper and cardboard.

I purchase electricity made in a coal-fired plant.

I don't (yet) compost.

This could go on all day.

May you like your answers to questions like these.

(Thank you for reading this far! No links + no pics + self examination = very few readers.)