Laws should follow and codify ethics, not dictate them. If a transgression (such as not reporting CSA to the relevant authorities) is not already banned by law, that doesn't mean it's fine. It means the law needs to be amended.
In this specific case I agree, not reporting CSA should be illegal (and probably is?) I'm not so sure that we should codify the current ethical understanding into law though.
We need to leave room for development. Forcing new ideas to first go through the battle of legalization isn't helpful in this regard. Laws are there to regulate what normal social regulation can't do properly.
I think people who cheat on their partners are morally speaking bad people. But writing into law you can't have multiple partners at once is quite obviously a bad decision, because there are happy polyamourus relationships. The government doesn't need to get involved here, being treated like the ass that you are for cheating is punishment enough, and leaves the room for developing new ways of living together.
I guess we need to distinguish between legislation, regulation and case law established through judicial precedent. Legislation is definitely too cumbersome to react to shifting moral standards. Regulation and judicial precedent are more flexible in cases where legal consequences are warranted.
As so often, there is nuance to the topic. General statements are hard to make both concisely and precisely. I opted for brevity, but you are absolutely right.
Either way, we agree that complacency about CSA is fucked up.
Sounds like a precursor to a lot of dystopian novels/movies. Equilibrium?
Laws should follow and codify ethics, not dictate them. If a transgression (such as not reporting CSA to the relevant authorities) is not already banned by law, that doesn't mean it's fine. It means the law needs to be amended.
In this specific case I agree, not reporting CSA should be illegal (and probably is?) I'm not so sure that we should codify the current ethical understanding into law though.
We need to leave room for development. Forcing new ideas to first go through the battle of legalization isn't helpful in this regard. Laws are there to regulate what normal social regulation can't do properly.
I think people who cheat on their partners are morally speaking bad people. But writing into law you can't have multiple partners at once is quite obviously a bad decision, because there are happy polyamourus relationships. The government doesn't need to get involved here, being treated like the ass that you are for cheating is punishment enough, and leaves the room for developing new ways of living together.
I guess we need to distinguish between legislation, regulation and case law established through judicial precedent. Legislation is definitely too cumbersome to react to shifting moral standards. Regulation and judicial precedent are more flexible in cases where legal consequences are warranted.
As so often, there is nuance to the topic. General statements are hard to make both concisely and precisely. I opted for brevity, but you are absolutely right.
Either way, we agree that complacency about CSA is fucked up.
Sounds like a precursor to a lot of dystopian novels/movies. Equilibrium?