Our laws should be based on our sense of morals and justice - not the other way around. You currently seem to have them reversed. An important line from stage

Our laws should be based on our sense of morals and justice - not the other way around. You currently seem to have them reversed. An important line from stage 6 of Kohlberg's stages of moral development - "Laws are valid only insofar as they are grounded in justice, and a commitment to justice carries with it an obligation to disobey unjust laws." Read this - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Kohlberg%27s_stages_of_moral_development http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Kohlberg%27s_stages_of... The linked page describes a theory of moral reasoning and ethical behavior ( and their various developmental stages ). Your view corresponds very closely with level 4 (copied below) - you believe that laws should be absolute, inviolable and should be applied equally and blindly. Some of the replies to your comment are speaking at level 5 or 6. They do not believe that the police, justice system or the government are absolute moral authorities and can make no mistakes. Copy paste from wikipedia follows: In Stage four (authority and social order obedience driven), it is important to obey laws, dictums and social conventions because of their importance in maintaining a functioning society. Moral reasoning in stage four is thus beyond the need for individual approval exhibited in stage three. A central ideal or ideals often prescribe what is right and wrong. If one person violates a law, perhaps everyone would — thus there is an obligation and a duty to uphold laws and rules. When someone does violate a law, it is morally wrong; culpability is thus a significant factor in this stage as it separates the bad domains from the good ones. Most active members of society remain at stage four, where morality is still predominantly dictated by an outside force. Post-Conventional The post-conventional level, also known as the principled level, is marked by a growing realization that individuals are separate entities from society, and that the individual’s own perspective may take precedence over society’s view; individuals may disobey rules inconsistent with their own principles. Post-conventional moralists live by their own ethical principles — principles that typically include such basic human rights as life, liberty, and justice. People who exhibit post-conventional morality view rules as useful but changeable mechanisms — ideally rules can maintain the general social order and protect human rights. Rules are not absolute dictates that must be obeyed without question. Because post-conventional individuals elevate their own moral evaluation of a situation over social conventions, their behavior, especially at stage six, can be confused with that of those at the pre-conventional level. Some theorists have speculated that many people may never reach this level of abstract moral reasoning. In Stage five (social contract driven), the world is viewed as holding different opinions, rights and values. Such perspectives should be mutually respected as unique to each person or community. Laws are regarded as social contracts rather than rigid edicts. Those that do not promote the general welfare should be changed when necessary to meet “the greatest good for the greatest number of people." This is achieved through majority decision and inevitable compromise. Democratic government is ostensibly based on stage five reasoning. In Stage six (universal ethical principles driven), moral reasoning is based on abstract reasoning using universal ethical principles. Laws are valid only insofar as they are grounded in justice, and a commitment to justice carries with it an obligation to disobey unjust laws. Legal rights are unnecessary, as social contracts are not essential for deontic moral action. Decisions are not reached hypothetically in a conditional way but rather categorically in an absolute way, as in the philosophy of Immanuel Kant.[18] This involves an individual imagining what they would do in another’s shoes, if they believed what that other person imagines to be true.[19] The resulting consensus is the action taken. In this way action is never a means but always an end in itself; the individual acts because it is right, and not because it avoids punishment, is in their best interest, expected, legal, or previously agreed upon. Although Kohlberg insisted that stage six exists, he found it difficult to identify individuals who consistently operated at that level. An example of a stage 6 behaviour... a colleague at the office was offered a place in the list of authors of a patent that was being filed. This colleague had joined the team almost immediately after the 'invention' had been invented, but he helped a lot with the implementation and solving a lot of critical problems around the main invention. Thus, at the time of filing for the patent, it was obvious to the team that his name should be included in the 'inventors'. The team members didn't even ask for the colleague's permission... they put his name as one of the inventors and approached the colleague for his signature on the patent application. However, the colleague refused to be included, giving the reason that "I cannot justify my name being included in the inventors list to myself. I didn't invent that. I am sorry but I must refuse". Young people in the team thought that he was nuts. Edward Snowden has acted at stage 6... but it "can be confused with that of those at the pre-conventional level" by people who themselves do not understand the stages 5/6. There is no doubt that he is a hero... and if the press releases the documents idiotically (who were given the documents by Snowden with the utmost faith), its their mistake. But it will not change the fact that Snowden acted morally and rightfully.