Folkways, Mores, and Laws

Alright. I was discussing society's mores when I came up with this little explanation/rant of sorts.

Be enlightened.

See, there are these norms, or rules which guide behavior. They're made up of folkways, mores, and laws. Folkways come from everyday life. Mores are morals (from religion) or obligations. Laws are, well, laws, which are written down and enforced by a group.

We are impacted by norms in that if we go against them, there will be consequences. For the folkways, the consequences generally aren't that serious. It'd be like not brushing your teeth or not showering. It'd be against the norms, but really the worst thing that's going to happen is that someone will bring it to your attention and it will be embarrassing. Laws, of course, are enforced by the higher group (ie, your employer, your parents, the government), so if you screw up there, you're going to be punished by either restriction of privileges, or by incarceration or something. Mores have the worst consequences, in my opinion. It's like a perverted justice type of thing. When you go against someone's morals or your obligations as a human being, not only are you going to be rebuked by your fellow man, but sometimes the government and/or higher authority will be involved as well.

So, yes. Society's mores are a terribly hard thing to go against, as they are changing so rapidly and definitely going downhill. It's becoming a norm to be a teenager and into drugs, alcohol, and nicotine. It's becoming a norm to be a teenager and not a virgin. It's becoming a norm to be a human and think that homosexuality and abortion are the right things to do or approve of. It's awful.

But... There are a lot of us who are going against it. Thankfully, at this point, the consequences aren't as high as they could be. We aren't being shunned for being straightedge or for thinking homosexuality is wrong. Not yet, we aren't. But who knows? Soon? Maybe.