captainswjr

I'm not explaining myself well. I'm not in practice I guess. I reason that I must follow the laws of the US is that that is the system I chose to participate in. The system has value to me. I think the system has some defects, but it also has a mechanism to correct those defects. I think that the system is not beyond hope of becoming a moral system. Are there immoral aspects to government? Yes. Does that give me carte blanche to ignore laws I don't like? No, I don't think it does. I'm feeling out of my depth a bit. I don't know if I can articulate why I feel that it is more moral to be a "law abiding citizen of the United States" than something other. I don't think I was arguing that. I was arguing that you should obey the laws of the political system which you have chosen. Yes, you have to live somewhere. You do have a choice of accepting the local political system or not. IF not, you have to deal with the consequences of being an outlaw.

Interesting book. If it was real, I would move there. This is a military sci-fi book about a conflict between a rational ex-colony world (Freehold) and an irrational planet Earth. It's a great read. Read it for free at the Baen Free Library. (It's not altruism, they fully expect to hook you on the authors work and make money from the sales) http://www.baenebook...2-freehold.aspx

I made a terribly general statement and you went way beyond my intent. My intent was that if there is a choice present, you need to honor your choices. There is no choice on the victum's part in a rape, it's a horrible use of force. You do have a choice in where you live. The United States is (in my opinion) the best(least bad) choice of Government to live under. I don't agree with a tremendous amount of what the government does, but it's still the best option. Government is an all or nothing choice. You can't just pick the pieces that you like. Obamacare and Romneycare (Massachusetts' health care scheme) are TERRIBLE. They should be struck down. I intend to vote against them and anyone that champions them. It doesn't mean I can avoid paying my taxes because I think it's icky.

(Numbered Paragraphs added by me) I would say that there is a choice of whether or not to participate in anything. Once you have made your choice, responsibility for that choice and what it implies is assumed. In my case, when I turned 18 I had a choice of becoming an American citizen or leaving the country for somewhere else. I chose to stay, which opted me into the system. Since I chose to stay I feel bound by the rules. This means I pay my taxes etc. I've accepted that living here was a better choice than trying to build that boat-in-international waters. I don't agree with a lot of things, and I excersise my vote to try to improve the system. I disagree with you about pretty much everything in the third paragraph. I think that in a free market run by rational people just about everything would be cheaper and higher quality than what we have now. I think that things could be better, but it is what it is. A is A. We have to deal with our fellow humans, even if they're behaving like morons. Make the best choices you can. We assume the burdens of the system we choose to participate in.