[aragornreborn]

Well, gee, if only I could inspire myself more like that. Oh well. That was very nice, Nyneve. Glad I could be of some use! [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]

Perhaps I will inspire more poems. I do feel rather poetic at times. Oh dear. You've got me thinking about it now! [img]smilies/tongue.gif[/img] If my posts start rhyming or soundinng eloquent - it's all Nyneve's fault!

Anyway, Menelien, the problem with relying on personal responsiblity with knowing where to draw the line is that we are, as humans, imperfect creatures. We can never keep ourselves perfect - even to our own standards. So, we never completely are able to draw a line for ourselves. Also, what defines a criminal? To what extent does the law takeover? And what does the law regulate? If being a criminal is doing wrong, then we are all criminals to some extent.

There is a spiritual law and a physical law. The spiritual law was made beyond man. It dictates how man should live in order to lead a productive, successful life. Without it, men can not live responsibly. We also have a physical law which is what you are talking about - laws made by man to keep man in order. Physical laws must be based on a standard. In fact, they are a shadow of the spiritual law (standard). They mirror the spiritual law as much as is possible and as much as those who submit to the law allow. But the physical law is neither capable of keeping man completely in check in all areas nor even in the areas it can govern. The most effective crime prevention comes from within the person himself. And again, what is the definition of criminal? All criminals began by doing "little" things. If we allow "little" things to be a matter of personal judgment, it will escalate to "bigger" things. Just as we expect everyone to accept the physical law, we must accept the more perfect spiritual law in order to live in a good society. Ignoring parts of the standard or leaving parts of the standard open for debate will result in chaos and evil.