In the cause of justice

Keys to my life: chain containing keys to Mailboxes Etc. and my mailbox, the cottage, Danny's place, my front door and apartment door, one unknown and my filing cabinet; key to grandmother's mantle clock; key to 1918 Regulator wall clock; extra filing cabinet and cottage keys; handcuffs with keys, extra front door key and old one; two extra apartment keys; unknown key on string; old car key; unused lock and keys.

You scored as Lawful Good. A lawful good person acts as a good person is expected or required to act. They are dedicated to upholding both what is right and what is set down in law. </td> Lawful Good 75% Chaotic Good 65% Neutral Good 60% True Neutral 55% Lawful Neutral 50% Chaotic Neutral 40% Lawful Evil 30% Neutral Evil 20% Chaotic Evil 15% What is your Alignment? created with QuizFarm.com

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So my daughters will be spending Christmas with me this year because of conflict between Marian and her maternal grandparents. This situation causes me to think about tolerance.

I posted my results from the alignment meme, found in themage's journal, because the results surprised me. I have always identified more with chaotic good than lawful good, and yet in the short questionnaire I recognized the appropriateness of these results. Although I'm a loner and a tree hugger, one of my highest ideals is a just society. I generally trust leaders and law enforcement officials to act on the behalf of everyone's best interests. Their failures anger me.

When former prime minister Jean Chrétien said he personally had qualms about homosexuality, but supported same-sex marriage because it is the job of government to protect rights of minorities, I saw justice in action. I am not an anarchist at heart. When laws do not uphold the welfare of citizens, I believe in working to change those laws rather than scrapping the system.

It has been hard for me as a former Christian turned atheist to understand where my moral centre should rest. I have sought to understand the laws of nature. I have had to ask myself why we are here. Ultimately I do not suppose there is any particular reason. In a universe without moral absolutes, who decides what's right and wrong?

The most sensible answer is found in life itself. To live and reproduce is our purpose, and we ought to do that in the best way possible. By reproduce I do not just mean mate and kill. We are a social species, depending not only on our communities, but on the community of other species within our environment. Our laws should protect these interrelationships. Personal freedom must be balanced against the good of the whole.

As we expand our knowledge of the universe and human mind, we may understand this purpose better. We should not adhere to traditional rules that may have served well in a limited and outdated context. A lawful mindset is not inflexible. I look to anthropology, sociology, ecology and our collective experience for wisdom.

themage said, "We have found the paladin for our party!" I have never seen myself in that light before. I was always somewhere off in the trees consulting pebbles and streams, looking for meaning in the stars. I could never live by the sword.

But the pen is sharper and more penetrating. That I truly believe. It is more than a weapon; it is a healing staff. I'm speaking metaphorically. It may take the form of a keyboard or dictation device. It is the freedom to speak.