Your idea of what constitutes a social norm, and its relationship to the formation of ethical principles, is singular and open to dispute. ----------
I have to ask if you read my later posts on this thread.
I took a very obnoxious tone for a purpose, which was to illustrate what evocative moralism sounds like. Kelley characterized it as ridicule. It was just that.
The entire spectrum of public discourse on sex and violence as well as most discussions of racism have saturated the public arena like a putrifying disease. Political discourse is rotted by this moralizing disease and has effectively destroyed its living functions. A prime example is the recent thread here on LBO titled, "NATO Bomb Kills TwoPeacekeepers" If you notice it devolved quickly into a name calling feast.
Two years ago when my son showed me a hand out from a course on medical ethics, I read it and laughed. I said, "Mike, there is only one thing you need to remember. Whenever you hear the word ethics, think money. Medical ethics is just another word for money." He literally stepped back, appalled. I am certain he didn't believe me. He called on Father's Day and we talked about his current rotation in the outpatient clinic in a public hospital in Houston. Most of the cases involve high blood pressure and diabetes. Guess why. Poverty.
Instead of examining our conscience, either individually or collectively, I think it is long past due to return to an examination and critique of the institutions, policies, and concrete conditions. Children, old people, and teenagers are the most vulnerable populations and register well all the poverty, alienation, and isolation that capitalism leaves in is wake.
If it isn't diabetes, high blood pressure, or fat, then it is early pregnancy, violence, family abuse, and a sea of psychic and sexual disorders. Most of these are often self-medicated with alcohol and street drugs.
So, in my mind it is both destructive and pointless to moralize over these symptoms. I find it similar to complaining that children whimper when being beaten.
Chuck Grimes