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Message: <blockquote data-quote="I'm A Banana" data-source="post: 1439774" data-attributes="member: 2067">While I do think this exercise may be doomed to failure, for philosophical and political reasons (heck, we're already arguing if Hippies are Good), I'll pipe in with my takes on the alignment....for instanceI see this as not that accurate....it'd be more accurate to say that the rules *are* the morality, in this case. That order, structure, and organization are of tantamount importance, even if some people get hurt in the process, because an organized harmony is the best for the most people, even if some don't like it. They don't just follow the rules because they are 'the rules,' they follow the rules out of an ardent belief that there is a reason behind them, and that if everyone were to follow their example, the world would work at a glorious pace, to the survival benefit of everyone. Some would obviously be stepped on -- society has to be built on the backs of *someone* -- but others would be honored and respected. One's position in the world is directly indicative of what they deserve -- leaders are leaders because they're the best leaders the time can offer, and while obeying them is useful sometimes organizing a rebellion to oust a chaotic ruler is the best approach for the alignment.In some ways, this is similar to, say the Hinu philosophical caste system, where if you are born into a high caste (such as Priest), it is because you were a good person in the former life, and the easier life of the Brahmin is your reward. Meanwhile, if you are born as a slave, it is because you were a bad person in a former life, and the harsh life of a laborer in the sewers (for instance) is your punishment. If you do not obey your role in life, in the correct fashion, this dictates your spiritual mobility. Morality is vague, because the value of life is directly related to the value of life within that society -- if you can eat turkey, that turkey is obviously not as enlightened a soul as you are. But if a dragon can eat you, there is obviously some learning left to do.I agree that Lawful Good is kind of the ideal "moral official," a political figure or civil servant who wants to do the most good for the most people. Leaders who want to help their community, and who think that order and justice are the hallmarks of a productive world....Lawful Evil is the pristine example of the conniving sneak. Corrupt civil servants who use their position in the world as a method to harass others, destroy what others have wrought, and simply to get a rise out of those helpless. "Bad cops" who beat criminals for joy, those who enjoy the punishment so much they encourage criminals (excecutioners who delight in what they do rather than seeing it as a necessity), and politicans who use their position to hurt any and all they may find unpleasant (and enjoy creating seemingly justified reasons for those actions, that are perhaps fabricated completely, or perhaps just playing off of public opinion to destroy someone's life).Chaotic Good is definately something of a "hippie ideal." There are no rules, there are no restraints, one can persue morality as best one thinks, since people will come to the same conclusion in different ways. Working together is counter-productive, since only individuals can realize Goodness in their own specific ways. All establishments are the root of corruption in the world, by virtue of their power...if there was no government, there would be no evil. No nationalism, no leaders, simply each person for themselves -- this would result in helping neighbors, kindly strangers, and forgiving souls, since that is the nature of humanity.Chaotic Evil is a delight in anarchy for the trouble it causes. The base nature of humanity is corruption, and Chaotic Evil types delight in unfettering the restraints that keep 'common decency' in place. Individual freedoms lead to individuals abusing each other, and that is the way things should be...blood, violence, pain, ruthlessness, survival purely of the most demonic, the most able to purge a sense of 'decency' from themselves. When left without rules, humanity becomes corrupt, abusive, and hateful, with no sense of cooperation holding them back from fighting their fellow man -- and that is perfect.Chaotic Neutral is more a pure "freedom for freedom's sake." There should be no fetters and restraints. Sure, that means some people get hurt more than others, and it means some people benefit more than others, but that part doesn't matter as much as the Freedom itself does. It is up to the individual to do what they can, not an organized group. One army should not destroy the others, one person should destroy the other. Take the bad with the good, roll with the punches, and accept that life is out of your control -- the most you can do is control your own actions, and even those are simply the product of random chance, in the end. Laws and rules and social norms are just crutches for the weak and cowardly....in Chaos lies the true human nature, the good, the bad, and the mostly in-between. The good one can fight the bad one and leave the rest alone....it is the Self that is sacred.</blockquote>

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