Individual Rights vs Functional Society
I start with this quote, because it speaks of a downward spiral from humans living ethically in society, to living by our animal instincts.
So we could say that human society is at the top end of this, and animal instincts are at the bottom.
This quote form Dostoevsky rings bells of truth.
Our history until now has been so tied up with religious thinking, that as folks drift away from the church, the whole sense of what it means to be a human seems to be getting lost.
In fact, the social laws that came out of religion are not wrong. There is no reason to link the two to each other. In most cases, church taught us how to act respectfully towards others, and to TRY to put other folks needs at least in the same category as our own.
Our social systems were largely built on them.
But with the Rights centered individualism, the importance of social order is being pushed downwards.
Society is built so that humans can live together without killing each other. Its that “prime directive” that is getting lost here. It has been suppressed under the whole “individual rights” movement, and imho, until we right that wrong direction, we will see societies ills worsen
If the prime directive:”Society is built so that humans can live together without killing each other” is used to build our laws, then a clear judgement can be made on individuals actions, accompanied by firm punishments for those who choose not abide by those laws.
Right now, the legal system is mush. Individual rights has become more important than keeping society functional. These days, everyone cries Nazi as soon as someone brings in the rule of law…. but NO LAW NO SOCIETY. The outcome is that our legal system has become one sided and dysfunctional.
If we continue to play this dumb game, society will crumble. Funny thing is, it is this mushy society that those anti law folks rely on to be able to function…. its just that when it doesn’t kowtow to their demands they have a hissyfit.
Reality is Dharma 