When Does Individual Behavior Go Too Far?

490 Words2 Pages
How would you draw the line as to when individual behavior goes too far? Is personal liberty something that we should care about? Under what conditions does society have the right to restrict individual liberty? Everyone has his or her own view on what is moral behavior and what is not. However, I believe that for the majority of people, it can be agreed upon that when a person’s actions inflict pain or suffering on someone else, that behavior should not continue because it doesn’t help the greater good of society. I would also argue that actions that intentionally put one’s self in danger should not continue. The people in their society shape the nature of that society. The society we live in today makes it clear that actions towards others that can physically or mentally harm them are illegal. There’s a clear line of what is considered acceptable behavior and what is considered criminal or illegal behavior. Stealing is against the law; murder is against the law; domestic violence is against the law; these are examples of how our legal system draws lines for the behavior of the society. When you look at these issues as issues of morality, that line might be different from person to person. For example, if a mother needs to feed her children and she is too poor to buy food, she could justify stealing food as moral because it prevents her children from starving to death. But to the storeowner, her stealing the food is immoral because she is taking away revenue from his business that he uses to pay for his own family’s needs. While you might not be able to draw a line for every instance, I’d like to think that there is a common moral thread in our society that views intentionally harmful acts to others as immoral. American citizens value their freedom. I believe that choosing to be a part of our society means you have certain personal freedoms. And while I believe
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