> I think this a cheap shot. Ethics and the federal regulations do not have >to be, nor are they supposed to be, the same. Quite often we find our >personal belief system is not in sync with regulations or legislation. Right on! How far do we need to look to realize that most of our most cherished beliefs are based on the very notion set forth above? Soren Kierkegaard, in describing the story of Abraham in "Fear and Trembling," said it most eloquently, IMO: the ultimate religious belief is a belief in one's self. The very foundation of American political and ethical theory is based on such notions -- need I mention Henry David Thoreau? Martin Luther King? How many others? Just because it's "law" doesn't make it part of my personal belief system. Indeed, such a thought is more consistent with the totalitarian regimes of the 1940's than it is with anything I know of. And yes, "ethics" is by its nature a personal matter, and therefore "flexible," in the sense that it always requires reaching inward to search ourselves for each situation that we encounter. The unthinking "do-gooder" response on this "whale" question, with even veiled criticism of a list member who paddles among whales, is, IMO, cheap, childish, incorrect and obnoxious. Sour grapes, I suspect. Reminds me of the debates about what kind of shoes we should use when hiking, to protect the dirt we walk on. Gimme a break. Mark *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced/forwarded outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Tue Oct 24 2000 - 10:48:36 PDT
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:30:33 PDT