Respect

"R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means to me"

But to what extent should we respect other people's views?

Usually, we are very accepting of what other people like to believe. We accept all kinds of people on the grounds that we would be discriminating against them if we didn't. Usually this is a good thing; homosexuals and people of most religions all been the subject of cruel treatment from society at one point due to their way of life. This has now been almost abolished due largely to awareness about discrimination. This is lovely! However, I think there's a line and I also think we don't know where it is.

Ok, so we've established that discriminating against someone because of what they believe is bad. But there are also circumstances where it can be accepted for good reasons and their lifestyle should not be tolerated. For example, if someone believes that they should hijack a plane because their God is telling them to, do we let them? Of course not because that would endanger the lives of all the people on the plane.

These two cases seem pretty clear cut. It seems "obvious" to us that you should respect homosexuals for their lifestyle but not allow religious groups to kill because they believe it's right. But where can you draw the line?

Where? I don't know.

The big difference between the two cases is the effect the actions have on the other people in the situation. In the hijacking situation, many innocent people die, which is a BAD thing. But two men living together does not harm anyone. Maybe the only way to really judge is by trying to forsee the consequences the action will have on other people and deciding whether the action is worth the consequences.

I love Utilitarianism. =)