Precedent is merely the assumption that somebody else, in the past with less information, nevertheless knows… — Robert A. Heinlein

“People tend to fall into three psychological types, all differently motivated. There is the type, motivated by economic factors, money...And there is the type motivated by ‘face,’ or pride. This type is a spender, fighter, boaster, lover, sportsman, gambler; he has a will to power and an itch for glory. And there is the professional type, which claims to follow a code of ethics rather than simply seeking money or glory—priests and ministers, teachers, scientists, medical men, some artists and writers. The idea is that such a man believes that he is devoting his life to some purpose more important than his individual self. You follow me?”

Wong shook his head sadly. “I sometimes think that modern education is deliberately designed to handicap a boy.”

Matt, you are suffering from a disease of youth—you expect moral problems to have nice, neat, black-and-white answers.