[Vision2020] creating tolerance

[Mike Weatherford]

>MessageGood Samaritan laws?  Which ones?
>
>Germany has laws similar to "Good Samaritan Laws".  For instance, you can 
>be
>arrested for not offering help to a stranded motorist in Germany.  I do not
>recall any such laws on our books.

If I recall correctly, the closest to a Good Samaratin law the United States 
has would be the law regarding first aid at an accident scene. Once you 
start to give first aid (cpr, usually,) you are required to continue until 
someone as competent or more so takes over. I'm pretty sure thats the only 
law like that we have.

And Donovan - you may consider taking up a debate strategy other than 
shallow straw-man arguments. For those of us who haven't had a logic class 
in awhile, the straw man fallacy is the one where you over-simplify your 
opponent's argument, draw ludicrious conclusions from that 
oversimplification, and then attack those ludicrous conclusions. In the 
future, please do not be so tacky. Now, on to what you said earlier...

"You cannot take the politics out of the law and still have laws."

I beg to differ. If you take the politics out of the law, then you have 
-good laws-. It is VERY possible to make a law to prevent, for example, 
rape, wife-beating, running red lights, or any other number of offenses 
without a consideration for politics. Considering politics when making laws 
gets you silly legislation like the Sanctity of Marriage act. Considering 
public safety, or maybe common sense, gets you laws against murder, rape, 
wife-beating, running red lights, theft, embezzlement &c. Common sense also 
gets you tolerance laws. Why? Because if people are afraid to act within a 
community, for fear of being attacked for their views (or race, sexual 
orientation, gender, eye color, hair length, shoe size...) then the 
community loses their participation, and is weaker for it. The idea of 
democracy is to encourage active participation, which is impossible when 
people are afraid to express themselves.

"Without laws you cannot function as a civilization."

Honestly, this isn't true either. Without laws, -I- could function as a 
civilization. I could even function as a civilization with other people. Its 
called "Having parents who taught me the difference between right and 
wrong." However, in any society, there are elements which, for whatever 
reason, are simply incapable of understanding the impact their actions have 
on other people. Laws are not designed to protect us from ourselves. They 
are designed to protect us from other people and the government. Any law not 
designed to protect us from other people or the government should be 
carefully considered, because odds are it isn't based on common sense.

Cheers,
-Mike

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