Dwarves, Elves and Magic Scimitars

At an early age I dual wielded-magical swords and struck down countless foes. Starting out, I didn't venture far from home; I kept post pretty close to my house. The call for adventure couldn't remain subdued forever and eventually I trekked further and further away. I would spend hours on end swinging my mighty weapons chopping down goblins, ghouls and ferocious monsters. There wasn't anything that could stand in my way of adventuring glory and valuable treasure. . . until my mom took my magical swords away.

The real scenario goes like this:

1) My magical scimitars were two sticks I found in my back yard.
2) The monsters where dandelions that I chopped down.
3) Chopping down the dandelions over time caused the seeds to spread throughout the neighborhood, causing them to multiply exponentially like some sort of hydra.
4) My neighbors complained to my mom that I caused a widespread dandelion infestation.
5) My mom prevented me from chopping down dandelions bringing peace to the neighborhood.

Morality is a tricky topic. Some think things can be right for some people and wrong for others. If something makes you happy, then you should do it with the caveat that it doesn't negatively effect someone else. The problem with this view is that there is nothing we can do that can guarantee no adverse effects. Think about it. Stealing hurts the victim yet helps the offender. Killing ends a life but has the possibility of ending an oppressive regime or abusive relationship.

When morality is justified on an individual basis the obscure lines of right and wrong create chaos and an unsustainable system. People often criticize religious systems as being oppressive but they bring stability and order; something that is essential for society to function.

My days of swinging scimitars are over. What brought me great pleasure and joy caused frustration to everyone else. At the end of the day the reigning rule was that I must listen to my parents. Case closed, no arguments, problem solved.

What do you think? Can society function safely in moral obscurity? If so, how do we discern which people deserve to be protected and whose rights need to be upheld?

Have a great Thursday!