We do we follow the law blindly?

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The point is that we don't blindly follow. The American people recognize when they disagree with a law and then work to change it. I suppose we could all pick and choose which laws to obey but that would be chaos.

There is a time and a place for civil disobedience. But in order to succeed your cause must be righteous and you must be willing to pay the price in the short term. I and many others disagree with a host of laws but the ones whose prohibitions are worth going to jail for are few and far between in America. This is especially true when we can air grievances in multiple forums.

It's not an America is better than China thing. Historically, culturally, and pragmatically we may have different beliefs and motivations for following laws. Deep down most Americans follow the law, whether or not they agree, because we get to have a say in making it.
 
Vranasaurus, you mentioned culture and that is an extremely valid point. In the United States we have been bred for 250 years that We are in control. Of the People, by the People, for the People. Even before that, when under English rule, the people technically elected Parliament (though suffrage was very low), so the idea that we make the ultimate call has been in our collective conscious for 800 years or so. Compare that to Asia which has lived under monarchs, dictators and tsars for hundreds of years, thousands in some cases. Most recently came communism in which a Politboro made(or makes) the same decisions the Monarchs of old did. So the collective conscious there is "don't rock the boat".
 
The media or internet is not open, I do not know if it is loosened because it all depends on unpredictable decisions. In some sensitive dates it will be tightly controlled, e.g Tiananmen Square anniversary... There many ways to bypass censorship if you want to, but many people do not care because for them ignorant is bliss.
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You are a Brave Man:
 

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I don't understand why some people thinks "because the law says so, I must follow it". Laws can be unjust and harsh, the law is not a moral standard for our society, it is only a set of rules set by the government for us to comply. I used to study law, we can only confined by what you can do and what you cannot do by the law, do not believe the law is just and impartial. The law cannot confine our behavior. Any ambiguity or the law does not say so is arguable legal. At least what I believe in.
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Most excellent, I am glad you had the courage to post that. Just so you know, people like you, who do not want to follow the law are one of the top reasons I have for owning a gun. Most people won't state it so bluntly as you have about believing that the law is an artificial construct constraining their behavior but they sure live that way.

Because you refuse to allow your behavior to be modified by the law when you break the law seriously enough to cause serious (possibly deadly) harm to me or others I care about then I will shoot you with one of my guns to make you stop acting outside of the law and no longer present a threat to me or those I care about. Sorry, but that is the way it is.

I agree with US constitution that people have the right to bear arms. Guns in China or in an Asian society is seen as a bad influence, people normally think guns are associated with crime and violence, it is not gun that kills people, people do. Even an airsoft gun is seen as a bad thing in my culture, a bad hobby. I think Asian people should change their perception about guns.
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Since you believe that people should not live within the law than I believe that it would be in my best interests if you do not own a gun.

The chinese government does not monitor an English forum like this.
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Yes it does. If you believe that they don't than you are nutty.
 
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Remember here that those who don't care for the government do not want no government; they merely want their own government. I have no reason to believe that their government would be any better than the one we already have. All revolutions, successful or unsuccessful, increase the power of government.

Remember also that the civil service system was developed in China.
 
If someone can articulate a position, and is willing and eager to discuss that position, I think I would put up with almost any amount civil disobedience from them.

If someone is merely parroting tired old talking points, and is unwilling to engage in reasonable discussion, I think they give up the privilege of having their civil disobedience tolerated.
 
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who's "we"? and who determines 'arguably legal'? Is the original idea here moral justification for breaking laws that are not legally binding, or mere rationalization for doing anything somebody feels like?
 
I believe that there are laws and that there aregod given rights. I believe that the right to defend yourself is a god given right, some places it is against the law.
 
In some places it is against the law to defend yourself with a firearm. Is that a just law that infringes on the Constitution that should be followed?

Or can/should that be ignored if changes through normal channels cannot be effected?

Suppose someone wants to carry a gun in that jurisdiction for personal protection? Does that fact make that person any more dangerous to you than one who follows the law in another jurisdiction that mandates a permit to exercise a Constitutionally guaranteed right?
 
Who is the ideal citizen? Someone who can reason and make moral decisions on his own or the obedient, blindly loyal law abiding citizen who cannot think for himself?

Then there is also the matter of de jure and de facto.

In Mexico, by law, firearms are strictly controlled, however:
From http://www.npr.org/2012/01/28/145996427/mexican-community-takes-taboo-stance-on-guns
The director of a pro-gun website called Mexico Armado said there is no popular movement at the moment to liberalize the nation's gun laws. Perhaps, he added, that's because anybody who wants a weapon in Mexico — be they a good guy or a bad guy — has no problem getting one.
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I think of the law as a yoke that domesticates and tames man. Some bear the yoke without a second thought. Others tolerate the yoke but will cast it off when necessary.

Reason for edit: Found better example
 
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Alas! Tis not so simple, for such a person would hardly count himself as a citizen of anything, would he? And does it follow that a person who follows the law (and even when there are only ten, it is difficult) is not thinking?

At the same time, I realize that some who are among us do not obey the law at all, if no one is watching.
 
My point is just like owning a gun, I do not use it to shoot innocent people or threaten others, I believe I have the right to keep my gun, some people say it is illegal and should not be promoted, I disagree, the law is the law, my human rights or individual freedom is another point you cannot use the law to judge me.
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Dude, you live in China. That means you don't own a gun. Get over it or move out.
 
People do it here just like over there and its from fear to follow the law blindly.

Everyone has an innate desire to be a good guy and stay out of trouble. With guns its the same. If I follow the law and do what they say, perhaps they will leave me alone and let me be with my family...

I better stop there before I offend anyone...
 
Dude, you live in China. That means you don't own a gun. Get over it or move out.
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Ha! How do you know? He probably has a gun and is scared of all of his friends turning him in from some stupid blind obediance training thing so ponders why...

If they take my guns, I'm going out the next day and replace it and don't say that it can't be had on the black market because anything can for the price.:D
 
"Everyone has an innate desire to be a good guy and stay out of trouble."

Everyone? What about the sociopaths and psychopaths? Ever work a psychiatric caseload of any sort? That reminds me of a man I had to evaluate at the old VA state pen on Spring Street, but that story will have to keep for another time.
 
"Everyone has an innate desire to be a good guy and stay out of trouble."
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I know this to false. I have met people who have no desire to meet the kids they ....... fathered would not be accurate ..... begat?
 
Although China is no democratic society, it is not as tightly controlled as the Soviet Union.
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The Soviet Union hasnt existed since 1991...


If a law is unjust, a man is not only right to disobey it, he is obligated to do so. - Thomas Jefferson
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Maybe. What is unjust?
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Unjust (Adjective): Not based on or behaving according to what is morally right and fair.
 
If someone can articulate a position, and is willing and eager to discuss that position, I think I would put up with almost any amount civil disobedience from them.
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Too bad you are not a judge. I can make a pretty good argument for the banking system executives being corrupt and unjust therefore I should be able to liberate them of their ill gotten gains.
 
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