Morality is only moral when it is voluntary.
quote by Lincoln Steffens
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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In a constitutional democracy the moral content of law must be given by the morality of the framer or legislator, never by the morality of the judge.
quote by Robert Bork
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Moral Rights
‘The moral rights of the author
have been asserted’… that, I’m told,
is what I should say when I write
anything for publication here; even before
I say anything..
It means, I guess, the more, the less..
than ‘Copyright’ which normally
gets printed just above it;
which just means, don’t copy this;
whereas ‘moral rights’ convey
so much more…
suggesting that I even possess morality;
which, considering my wild, undisciplined
former life, you might well question..
but note, I merely ‘assert’ them;
feel free to challenge them (you note that ‘rights’
are plural; plenty lawyer’s fees there
to say, well maybe this, not that…
and you’re free (your defending counsel may assert)
to copy my poem and put your own name to it;
since truth can be in no man’s sole possession,
and my poem, bless its metered tropes,
speaks naught but the truth..
though now I mention ‘truth’, I don’t recall
that phrase about the moral rights
upon the title-page of, let’s say,
the Gospels; Books of Moses; Qu’ran; Upanishads;
those guys on whom we’ve so long depended
to tell us what morality should be..
so please understand, that when I ‘assert’,
it’s more for my self-image than for yours;
makes me feel good; I must be
a serious author, if (in the subtext, scholars footnote)
the moral underpinning may be detected..
and that said – now to the poem.. Except
now I’ve forgotten what I was going to say..
Perhaps that, too, is a moral issue; but
I have the right to remain silent..
even if I’m up on this morality charge..
my defence is, that my Muse,
hearing the word ‘morality’,
flees my company. ’Twas ever so.
poem by Michael Shepherd
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The essential function of art is moral. But a passionate, implicit morality, not didactic. A morality which changes the blood, rather than the mind.
quote by David Herbert Lawrence
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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All religions have based morality on obedience, that is to say, on voluntary slavery. That is why they have always been more pernicious than any political organization. For the latter makes use of violence, the former - of the corruption of the will.
quote by Alexander Herzen
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Property is not the sacred right. When a rich man becomes poor it is a misfortune, it is not a moral evil. When a poor man becomes destitute, it is a moral evil, teeming with consequences and injurious to society and morality.
quote by Lord Acton
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Those who cherish their freedom and recognize and respect the equal right of their neighbors to be free and live in peace must work together for the triumph of law and moral principles in order that
peace, justice, and confidence may prevail in the world. There must be a return to a belief in the pledged word, in the value of a signed treaty. There must be recognition of the fact that national morality is as vital as private morality.
quote by Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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In its original literal sense, "moral relativism" is simply moral complexity. That is, anyone who agrees that stealing a loaf of bread to feed one's children is not the moral equivalent of, say, shoplifting a
dress for the fun of it, is a relativist of sorts. But in recent years, conservatives bent on reinstating an essentially religious vocabulary of absolute good and evil as the only legitimate framework for discussing social values have redefined "relative" as "arbitrary." That conflation has been reinforced by social theorists and advocates of identity politics who argue that there is no universal morality, only the value systems of particular cultures and power structures.
quote by Ellen Willis
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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Obscenity is a moral concept in the verbal arsenal of the establishment, which abuses the term by applying it, not to expressions of its own morality but to those of another.
quote by Herbert Marcuse
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Do you not see, first, that - as a mental abstract - physical force is directly opposed to morality; and secondly, that it practically drives out of existence the moral forces?
quote by Auberon Herbert
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The law is constantly based on notions of morality, and if all laws representing essentially moral choices are to be invalidated under the due process clause, the courts will be very busy indeed.
quote by Byron White
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For children to take morality seriously they must be in the presence of adults who take morality seriously. And with their own eyes they must see adults take morality seriously.
quote by William Bennett
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Do not be too moral. You may cheat yourself out of much life. Aim above morality. Be not simply good; be good for something.
quote by Henry David Thoreau
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Do not be too moral. You may cheat yourself out of much life. Aim above morality. Be not simply good be good for something.
quote by Henry David Thoreau
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Do not be too moral. You may cheat yourself out of much life so. Aim above morality. Be not simply good; be good for something.
quote by Henry David Thoreau
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Science by itself has no moral dimension. But it does seek to establish truth. And upon this truth morality can be built.
quote by William Masters
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The battles that we face in this business aren't financial, but they are moral. And I certainly think that the longer you can keep your values, and your morality intact, and keep your head on your shoulders about what is important at the end of the day, you can get the most out of this business and really emerge with something wonderful.
quote by Reese Witherspoon
Submitted by Diana Frone, MTTLC
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CHARTER RIGHTS TO EUTHANASIA JUNE 13th,2011
Voluntary suicide should be one of our Charter rights,
Especially for terminally ill patients - soon to turn out their lights,
Euthanasia should be a legitimate medical option here,
For folks in terrible pain and sickness and soon to disappear.
Those opposed to euthanasia say euthanasia is weird,
They say that death is a natural process that should not be feared,
Most religions are a righteous preparation for a pious death,
And voluntary suicide might be a sin on your last breath.
They scream about Charter Rights and human rights in a big loud sigh,
Never mention that voluntary death might be a good “Good Bye.”
Therefore the Charter should be changed in order to put things right,
And Canadians could then rearrange their upcoming plight.
June 13th,2011
poem by James Bredin
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The moral equation strongly tells everyone who understands freedom, who understands morality, that Israel is engaging in a just war in defense of its people and its freedom.
quote by George Pataki
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Morality Make Beauty
Would the things you do
Make you beautiful
Probably
Surely we have two sides in everything
The two sides of beauty
You and you
Inside and outside
Ever and never
Inexhaustible and exhaustible
Let just start right here
Cosmetics made me looked beautiful
But I wander
How long would this last
When it is never hidden from the
Solemn standing sun
The sun shall shine
And tomorrow the sun shall dry this beauty away
Some call it old age
Why won't this beauty last?
Some also say old age annihilates beauty
Hey!
How long would you remain a secret to the majority?
You contemptuously say to cosmetic
Beauty maker
Is that what they call you?
Oh mercy you despicable
Morality makes you beautiful you
Morality makes you beautiful inside
Morality makes you beautiful for ever
Morality makes you your world beautiful
Your inside matters
The sun don't dry it up c
It hidden from the solemn standing sun
Morality overcomes the sun's annihilation
Let morality make you up
Behold drifting away shall your beauty not be
Forever shall it bloom as the sun shines
poem by Moses Amen Nyinaku
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Testifying
Darkness!
Sexual abuse;
Testifying,
From the offenders,
Of the sense of security,
Darkness! !
Professed,
Lack of morality,
Of these scandals!
Of the moral high grounds,
Glamour, clamour, armour!
But, too little too late.
poem by Edward Kofi Louis
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