For the moment, let's leave religion out of this discussion. I will come back to it later. All Humans(people), by nature, have the same rights; not dependent on when, where, how, or what gender they are born. These Rights supersede all national affiliations and national laws. These are natural laws. They existed before there were governments and will remain after. First and foremost, All people own themselves. All people are entitled to the fruits of their own labor. All associations, transactions, contracts, agreements, sales, etc. of Any kind, for Any reason must be voluntary. (Non-Aggression Principle or NAP - Aggression/Coercion should not be used to force anyone to do, say, or agree to Anything. The ONLY time aggression may be used is in the defense of the life and rights of yourself (or others) from another party initiating aggression.) Theft of any kind is wrong. These represent my ETHICAL stance on way human society should be. I understand that this model of society does not exist on any large scale today and may not come to exist in my lifetime, but this is something to strive towards. _________________ So, what does this mean and how did I come to these beliefs? Human beings, by nature, have the right of Self Ownership: Nobody else can decide for you how you should live your life. Only You can decide what's best for you. There is no other person, no human authority, higher than yourself in your life. If you own yourself, then every other human being also has that same Self-Ownership. Therefore, You have No right to act as an authority on someone else's life without their consent. You can not tell someone else how to live their life without their consent. You can not use force or coercion on another person in any way, except in the defense of the life or property of another. THINK HARD HERE IF You have no RIGHT to dictate to the life of another person, THEN you have no ability to convey that right to somebody else (e.g. through an election, etc.) For Example: You have no RIGHT to take something that is mine. Since you don't have the RIGHT to take my stuff, you can not give that right to someone else to use on your behalf. So, you can not bestow the RIGHT (which we have already decided you don't have) on the government and call it a Tax. The concept of governance is that the people being governed confer their rights upon authority figures to act on their behalf VOLUNTARILY. But, you can only give what you already have. You CAN NOT confer to another person a right that you do not already have to use/exercise on your behalf. If you are NOT a voluntary participant in a nation, an agent of the government (tax collector, police officer, etc.) can not legitimately come to your house and have the RIGHT to take your stuff because nobody who voted for this person or put that person in charge had the authority to grant that right to begin with. Voluntary Associations: No person should be forced to participate in anything that they do not want to be a part of. That includes but is not limited to: Governments Religions Marriages Armed Forces Businesses Clubs or ANY OTHER group or activity for any reason. If you agree with these beliefs, if you share this ETHICAL stance then you might be surprised to know that you are an Anarchist/Voluntaryist. _______________ I used to say that I am proud to be an American. You can be proud of the people in your country, proud of the accomplishments and advances her people have made, and at the same time recognize that there are flaws inherent to the system. I think that our country was founded on good principles, but, over the years, these principles have been sidelined by the corporate and political interests of this world. At the time this country was conceived there were a great many difficulties to be overcome but there were fewer rules and laws. We believed in individual liberty and created a nation to protect that liberty. The founders did their best, but just as with all other things in this world, advances have been made and new ways of thinking have emerged. The founders did what they thought necessary at the time, but I highly doubt that they would be pleased at what their creation has become. Now, instead of listing the things we are Not allowed to do, it seems we list the things we Are allowed to do. The laws and regulations in place today are oppressive, tyrannical, and unnecessary. The "taxes" the government steals from us are excessive. The "taxes" collected from us are not put to good or even effective use. The use of our armed forces to promote our ECONOMIC interests is deplorable. Our whole system is CORRUPT. IN SHORT, we have turned into the very monster we fought so hard to escape. This Country is in dire need of a MAJOR shift in the way we do things. It is inevitable. If we don't fix the problem, the whole system is going to burn down on its own. And on its way down we will lose more and more of our liberty until it gets to the point where ANYTHING that the powers-that-be offer us will be better than our current situation. I believe that it is still possible to make a difference from within the system, but that it will not happen, so I prepare for the worst. The average American is blind to the problem. The average person cares less about freedom and more about security. Most people these days won't complain unless there is some major shift from their comfort zone. The average person would rather be told what to do than take control of their own fate, make their own decisions, and live with the consequences. They are Sheep. ___________ I am a Christian, not because my family is Christian or because all the cool people are Christian, but because I made that choice for myself after deep thought and study on the subject. Nobody forced me to make this decision. It is not POSSIBLE to force someone to be Christian/Muslim/Buddhist/etc. It is a belief one has. ________________ Do I think that there should be laws prohibiting behavior that I find immoral? Insofar as it does not involve anyone else or their property then No. 1) Speaking specifically about the United States: There is a very clear doctrine from the very beginning of the country that there shall be no officially sanctioned and endorsed religion in the USA. This creates a problem for the enacting and enforcing of laws that are based on moral principles based upon religious teachings and context. Which religion is to be the model for governmental morality? Christianity? Islam? Buddhism? To base a law on "Morality" is in direct conflict with our founding principles. There are many behaviors that I find morally wrong and think are ultimately damaging to the individual and society at large. But as long as those behaviors, decisions, and actions are confined to oneself and other voluntary participants then I do not think the government should be able to declare them legal or illegal. If you allow the government to base it's laws on a particular religious understanding of morality, then later that same government could later use a different religion as the model. We must base our laws on protection of life, liberty, and property only. Limit the government and attempt to prevent it's overreach. 2) Using laws to force morality: I don't believe in legislating morality. I don't think that someone who doesn't steal, simply because it it against the law, is a moral person. They are surely a pragmatic person, but moral? The moral person would not steal, regardless of the law, because they believe it to be wrong. A person's belief or lack thereof in a higher power is not and should not be dependent upon the laws currently in place in society. In fact, it could be argued that obedience to secular laws could make a person complacent and leave them vulnerable to a false sense of eternal security. I don't need laws to know Right from Wrong. __________________ Render unto Caesar... I pay my taxes. I don't want government thugs breaking down my door and hauling me off to a cage because I didn't want to let them steal the fruits of my labor. As long as the situation remains the same here I will continue to pay my taxes.