Oh…The Morality of it All!

I had someone I respect in many ways tell me recently that he wasn’t his vote wouldn’t be influenced by the issue of abortion because it is a personal decision and we can’t legislate morality anyway.

I was and have been amazed that intelligent people can say something so incredibly stupid. If we don’t legislate morality, what do we legislate? Logistics?

Every law that is passed, no…every bill introduced, has a moral base and is seeking to legislate morality. Every law regarding welfare, disability coverage, social security, subsidized housing…etc… assumes that we have a moral obligation to care for the poor and takes a particular moral view on how to do it. The USA Patriot Act took a moral stand on terrorism and each provision had a particular moral conviction as a base. Our defense budgets and policies are based on moral determinations of our responsibilities to protect our citizens as well as the innocent abroad. Immigration laws are based on our moral obligation to maintain a standard of living here as well as provide a haven for the oppressed. Even local laws such as zoning laws have a moral base. Zoning pits the moral obligation of allowing a property owner to rule his own property versus the right of the neighbors and the community to expect certain standards.

Morality permeates and undergirds everything. We say that we can’t legislate morality only when we are about to vote for someone wicked because we think they will advantage us in some way. This phrase is a code for abdication of responsibility and it is a prefix to our own wickedness.