An explanation of how you came to be moral...

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My "ambient religious background" was along the lines of that black Americans weren't as smart or as dedicated as us white folk, and that they were marked by God for their sins. The fact I reject that as utter bullshit ought to be *enough* to disprove your assertion that I don't know what *I* think.
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What I am about to say may sound politically incorrect. I hope to God it does not make me sound like a racist.

I don't see anything remotely morals-related in the above statement. It's a lot of awfully wrong sociology. Now, when someone implies it's ok to rob them and hurt them because they are "marked" - that's a next step, much closer. But even then the problem is not lack of "morals" per se. Morals are about dealing with _people_. If you are dumb enough to not include blacks in that cathegory - it's a different problem. It needs to be fixed by convincing the racist that blacks are indeed just like whites, people. Or, if that can't be done, lock up the bastard. But don't say he lacks moral values. He simply does not apply them to as wide a circle as you.

Now, the circle to which morals are applied does vary with history (I am conceding a point here, in case you did not notice). But not the rules themselves. A simplest way to make a devil out of somebody is to teach him/her that others aren't people.


I am not particularly happy with what I just said, but that's where logic takes me. I could try to introduce some sort of "meta-morals" which causes people whouse circle of moral application is larger to be considered better people by themselves and (amazing as it sounds) others. But I don't think I am good enough to prove it.


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When you get into the various immoral (in my opinion, but I suppose incest and impregnating 12 year olds (seperate cases) and beating children, with the more minor issues of theft and various petty things, *are* subjective) actions that the various religious people, who claimed a moral directive from God that I've seen, that weren't *that* unusual in the area where I grew up, I'm damn sure that while I learned a helluva lot, I didn't get my morals via osmosis.
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Did people around you say that it's a higly good thing to do all of the above? I can see how beating children may be called "moral" (another long discussion needed). But theft? incest? sex with kids? If the answer is "yes" to any of the above, pray tell, did you consider people who were approving of those acts to be good people at the time? You can learn from bad examples, too.