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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Related quotes
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.
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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.
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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.
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This Nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds. It was founded on the principle that all men are created equal, and that the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened. Today we are committed to a worldwide struggle to promote and protect the rights of all who wish to be free. … We are confronted primarily with a moral issue. It is as old as the scriptures and is as clear as the American Constitution. The heart of the question is whether all Americans are to be afforded equal rights and equal opportunities, whether we are going to treat our fellow Americans as we want to be treated.
quote by John F. Kennedy

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Equality of rights means that some people cannot simply impose obligations on others, for the moral agency and rights of those others would then be violated.
quote by Tom G. Palmer

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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.
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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.
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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.
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Individual rights are the means of subordinating society to moral law.
Morality is only moral when it is voluntary.
quote by Lincoln Steffens

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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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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

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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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Moral Plight
Men are facing a moral plight, confronted by the deeds of night,
Throughout the land, even by us, who in God have put their trust.
We’re far beyond a moral decline, as Satan attempts to redefine,
Men’s moral attitudes and ways, while he darkens our final days.
Suggesting moral openness, in forsaking God’s Righteousness,
Counterfeiting things that are right, with his tainted spiritual light,
When they are not right at all, but the sin created by Adam’s fall,
Sin Satan continues to replicate, so all deception will perpetuate.
Deceiving multitudes every day, to leave Christ’s untainted way,
The only way that leads to life, away from all that immoral strife.
Amorality is all that’s preached, while closed hearts are reached,
A faith to include everyone, who stands opposed to God’s Son.
Some suggest, there is no sin, and God, in all things, lies within,
And that the Cross of Calvary, by us, is preached unnecessarily.
For this Truth of God they despise, believing man alone is wise,
And that none are spiritually lost, so want to rid us of the Cross.
Without the Cross and its Truth, men think they’ll see no reproof,
From the God over all Eternity, as they continue living immorally,
But, as their life gets darker friend, that darkness will see an end,
As it is exposed by The Light, when Jesus makes all things right.
(Copyright ©04/2008)
Evil's Goodness
Evil’s Goodness
Christian U. Garan
You and I are sinful being.
Denying the fact is lying.
So accept the unacceptable reality,
Coz’ doing such reflects your maturity.
Yet, there are times in which our “Id” demands;
Worldly pleasures it commands.
And the “Ego” will instantly be on the go.
But wait, never let go!
Be firm enough to resist temptations.
Then there will be feathers on your hat!
You have a brain to decide,
and conscience which will guide.
So, my dear, make a dry run!
Make a dry run!
Can’t you run away from this and that?
Admit that you can’t and
make a dry run.
Physical evil is imperfection.
But moral evil is a violation.
Authentic evil is the moral evil.
The two are true but of different level.
The value of things lies on the morale.
Morality isn’t singular but it’s plural.
Yet, why is evil created by God?
Can he just program human not to be bad?
But my dear I tell you,
Something good from the seemingly evil
He can draw!
poem by Christian Garan

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Dont You Think It's Time?
children have rights,
women have rights.
lovers have rights.
people of all religions,
and even atheists have rights.
people of all colors,
speaking every language have rights.
trees and rivers have rights.
cats and dogs have rights.
cattle have rights,
homeless people have rights.
prisoners have rights.
democrats and republicans have rights,
even socialists have rights.
the jobless have rights,
old people have rights...
and the hungry have
the right to be fed!
damnit! dont you think it's time?
poem by Eric Cockrell

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Perplexity
Time changes
Changes every thing
From truth to beauty
Every thing is moving
From love to morality,
Love is now a butterfly
From this flower to that flower to flatter by
This flower does not have
That flower might have the desired pleasure
This cave does not have surprises
That cave might have the wonder!
Morality is now
A make up box, a mask
A means to meet the selfish end
A weapon man made
Twist and turn to suit the whimsical trade.
In the periphery of divinity now men is the guide
The car of the morality men now drive.
Truth remains not a truth at all
It keeps changing with time and place
Losing its beauty and divine grace
In the eyes and minds beauty is very restless
From the beginning permanently remains only the perplexity
In the life of bewilderment absolute is the paradoxical irony.
poem by Abdul Wahab

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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

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Political realism is aware of the moral significance of political action. It is also aware of the ineluctable tension between the moral command and the requirements of successful political action. And it is
unwilling to gloss over and obliterate that tension and thus to obfuscate both the moral and the political issue by making it appear as though the stark facts of politics were morally more satisfying than they actually are, and the moral law less exacting than it actually is.
quote by Hans Morgenthau

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