Thought Provoking Questions
Good questions tend to put forth a certain viewpoint, even
if only because they inherently challenge the accepted ones.
They don't require you to agree with that viewpoint though. A
question is just a question. We will have different answers,
but I won't have any here. These questions are just for the purpose
of provoking thought.
1. If it is wrong for me to steal from my neighbor Joe in
order to send my kids to school, or to paint a picture, or to
subsidize my tobacco crop, how can it be right for me to do it
using the government as my agent? If enough of us vote to take
Joe's money for something we want to do, does this "mob
rule" make it okay? Is it okay for any purpose, or does
it only become okay if it is a "good" purpose? If so,
who decides what a "good" purpose is?
2. Given that Hitler was elected to parliament, and that the
ancient Greek parliament was much more representative than what
we have today, yet still voted to kill Socrates for teaching
the wrong things, is Democracy the best we can do? If the people
vote to violate their own rights and those of others, is that
okay, just because the majority wants it that way? (Side note:
How did a constitutional republic come to call itself a democracy
just because it votes for it's leaders?)
3. If 10 million want a given party or person in power, but
can never have any representation because only Democrats and
Republicans will be elected by the other 90 million voters, why
should they feel that this is a representative government? Wouldn't
a system that allowed them to send their own representatives
to congress be more fair? Isn't there a way to devise a system
which allows any million voters that agree to have representation?
4. If animals cannot be treated cruelly, and the laws are
recognizing that more and more, do they have "rights"
as children do? If they are they dependent but with basic rights,
as children are, do those who choose to "own" them,
owe them proper food and medical care and should they be prosecuted
if they fail to provide it? Should owners also be forced to care
for pets for life, with no option to have them killed when they
become inconvenient?
5. If a moral rule like, "don't steal," can lead
to immoral action, as in not stealing to feed your child when
that is the only option, is it possible that...
Continued here: More Questions
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