Where To Begin?

I have some things on my mind and I don't feel that there is really a very good place to begin; at least not in a concise and compelling manner. So as I often do, I will "jump right in":

I am wanting to start a series, for lack of a better word, on morals, principles, philosophies, ethics, and the like. My mind has been on these issues lately; or much more than usual, as I often consider this subject. It is something that we all posess, even if we do not realize that we have such moral code.

Many of us feel as if we have the adopted the moral code of our city, state, and government. The civic code, which is law, is understood and for the most part obeyed. But what about this, "for the most part" thing? How many of us consider obeying the laws as being part of our own personal moral code? And if we do consider our code to be as such, then do we break our own personal code or the civic persoanl code when we drive 60 miles an hour in a 55 miles per hour zone? And can the two be seperated at this point? Only if your persoanl code of morals is that you "basically" follow the general rules of society. But then it must be decided which rules are acceptable to be broken. And I'm not considering speding down the highway with a dying child or expecting mother, even thought that is still breaking the civic code, and possibly persoanl code, regardless of situation or consequence. Is there even an accurate answer?

And is anyone following me? I must admit that I know just enough to be dangerous in this area; and I don't know enough to accurately teach or even explain myself. So I really am asking questions here. I am just "throwing this out there" for anyone interested to think about. I also understand that we haven't defined any terminology here, and that you, the reader, are really at my mercy; and that I can slightly bend the words in my favor. I can choose when to be absolute or literal, and when each word fits my purpose. And that makes me wonder, "How does this play into my persoanl code of morals and ethics?"

And consider religion as well. Not only does civic morals, or laws, shap our individual moral code, but our religion does as well. And as we treat our civic laws and determine when, where, and to what extent we can break such laws; we behave in a manner as such in our religious code. We may call ourselves Christians, but very few of us adhere to what we believe to be true. And I am not considering sin, just as I was not consiodering crime; I am wanting to focus more on what we truly believe, and how much we understand what we say that we believe.

I know this is a messy can of worms, but I do think that it is an important study, for lack of a better word. To often in our society we say one thing then do another, never really considering the consequences. Too often we make ourselves our own little mayors and congressmen, and gods; justifying what rule we can break and when we can break it. I don't think that we can deal in absolutes here, but I do propose that we can try to get a little closer to that point. Morals and ethics do not make us, we make them in order to understand and explain ourselves; and to better understand and live with our fellow man.

And this is far as I have gotten in terms of an introduction. As you can tell, it is not exactly planned out, but i hope you get the gist of what I am considering and if it will be a worthwhile endeavor. I would appreciate any feedback!