Why do the majority of us have to live by the rules made by a few?
409858
The laws of this country are passed on whole as representative of what is best for all.  When a law is controversial, such as abortion or prayer in school, you have to ask yourself who are you to force your belief on other people.\n\nWho are you to tell someone they can't get an abortion, what happened to the right of privacy in the Constitution acquired through substantive rights via the ninth amendment.\n\nWho are you to tell others they must pray in school, what happened to freedom of religion.  What happened to the establishment clause that states a govt may not adopt an official religion, which by sanctioning a type of prayer it could be seen as doing.\n\nI do not mean this response to target you directly, I am asking the questions in general.  But in such instances the minority is being forced to accept the belief of the majority.  What happened to America, the land where religious persecution was wrong, and people could pursue their religion as long as no one was hurt.\n\nYes, america is the land of the majority, but the minority can not be ignored and stepped on.  if a law is not necessary to the functioning of the country, why pass it and oppress a group when no group would be oppressed or harmed were the law not passed.\n\nI am not offended by what you wrote.  I prayed when I was in school, it was a private school, and it was when I first started school, but I enjoyed it, but I would be considered spiritual, and why should what I believe be forced on someone else.\n\nWhat is important in passing laws is the function of govt and society.  Just how badly do the above examples affect either.  If you wish to take part in abortion operations you can, if you object you can abstain.  If you want your child to pray in school send them to a religious school, but don't require the govt force prayer on everyone.\n\nThe problem with majority rule is where do you stop.  When the majority carries favor, when do we say, oh they can win on this but not this.  What about when the majority wants something harmful to the public?\n\nI am not trying to invalidate your point, I very much respect it, and contrary to the tone of my answer, I agree with you to a large extent.  But I think such things are moot.  Many politicians use such things to win favor, but what do they do for you to better your life or the lives of their constituents.  Let me put it this way, would you rather nationwide healthcare, or a ban on nationwide abortion.  which one is better for the public?  which one is more important to you?
788642
Most of us are at a very basic level of morality..that is we do things out of fear of punishment or in expectation of reward.
918874
Some people still believe in minding their own business.
955771
I am one of a dying breed in that I believe that in order to live in a country where you have rights, you sometimes have to fight for them, and while I do believe that everyone is entitled to there beliefs, and has the right to express their opinions there are times when doing so is counter productive for the welfare of the country that you live in. Rights are not without boundaries. My rights stop where yours begin, and the same applies to to yours. If you can't love your country, at least have some respect for it.
292441
There are always sacrafices needed and made so that we can enjoy our freedoms. You can't force anyone to live together in peace. No matter how hard you try, it doesn't work. That is the big ideal that socialist/communist societies try to portray. History has shown them to be failures.
680107
The government is meant to set rules, not be your nanny.
217260
The same reason anyone uses coercion to get what they want. It is a control issue. These kinds of people are putting their problems on your shoulders and if you accept that responsibility you deserve it. It is sad but true.
170855
Society must function with some type of uniformed rules. Without these rules society will fall into anarchy. Basically, a life without any type of rules. That's pretty scary. Can you imagine life without any rules? You say teach your childern to respect nature. But then again, you are forming some type of rule. There is no such thing as total freedom without consequence.
410702
because it's the elite that maintain power and they don't wan't to give it up.  It's a closed society and they want to keep it that way.  They are biased, judgmental people and they protect each other.  They don't want to deal with common folk like you and I.
332284
Because they are self centered. But some of us are not.Hint Hint
347551
Some people think they need to out do others,stay like you are.
21270
Societal norms has been the building blocks of decideding what is right or wrong. The society that we live in is majority rule. While opinions might differ on certain aspects, the majorities views seem to carry over more often to the deciding factor of who/what is right or wrong.
205860
It's  all in the government games we play.They make the rules up as they go.We the american people are little game pieces they move from square to square.
46968
It's very close.  I mean, by definition people in a society are not 'free'.  They all agree through social contracts and constructs to limit their behavior to the de facto 'rules'.  People can't be allowed to go running around doing just whatever they want.
318218
Rules set a standard, so the saying "rules are made to be broken" shows every ones standards are different.  Hopefully the majority would define the rules, but the minority would break them.
1180057
That is an excellent question and a very good point. I totally agree with you. What makes anyone think they are good enough to judge others, and what right have they to set the standards for other people. As long as people are doing their very best within their means, people should live and let live within reason, providing they are not causing a danger to themselves or others.
1115260
Just because people choose not to handle it,doesn't mean they couldn't have. It's all part of our freedom to choose.