Quote:
Originally posted by vermin
The whole point of America is that it is a government of the people. I may have read more into your post than was intended, but by the way it was worded (and the quotes), I got the impression that you think this is a bad thing. I respectfully disagree. Most Americans have religious beliefs that help to serve as a moral compass. And the whole point of democracy is that majority rules. Not "Let's accomodate every splinter and fringe group with another weird idea of how things should be". That's PETA thinking. The majority of Nevada residents thought prostitution should be legal (apparently), so it's legal there. Every community sets its own standards for how life should be (ideally).
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Wasn't it Madison who was afraid of appeasing the masses? Just because a majority thinks something in a democracy doesn't neccesarily mean that should be the law. Obviously we have regulations and systems to protect minority "fringe groups" for this very reason. Otherwise by this logic, as long as a majority of people thought it was okay to enslave others, then it would be legally justifiable. However this alientates natural rights and a whole mess of complicated things
I'm not trying to compare this to whether or not a community bans prostitution because of their moral beliefs, but I'm trying to make an argument against the general principle of what you're saying.
Jefferson claimed that the purpose of the government was to make roads and deliver the mail (loose quote). IE, moral issues were taken care of inside the household, but it wasn't the place of the government to worry itself in those kinds of affairs.