Are these too weird to write about in a book on life?

Cassandra, welcome to A2K. You would probably get a better response if you posted each question separately, but I'll take a stab at the whole list.

3. We force kids to apologize when they've hurt someone because the act of apologizing makes them acknowledge the victim's feelings and helps them develop empathy. Kids may not be not mature enough to initiate the apology on their own, especially if they try to rationalize their own actions and deny the victim's pain to make themselves feel better. Also, the humiliation of having to apologize may make the transgressor think twice before repeating the offense.

8. We love our "own" children because we are programmed to do so in order to perpetuate our own genes (it doesn't matter whether the children are biological or adopted, the emotional response is innate). Fortunately we love children in spite of themselves, or the human race would have ended long ago. :wink:

12. We who live in the US think it is "right" because the majority of its citizens are moral (surely you've heard of the Moral Majority?) and if the decisions made by elected officials reflect the wishes of the populace, they are therefore moral as well. If a president of the immoral ilk was able to con the majority and be elected, his decisions could put the US in the "wrong." We certainly would not want a president elected by a minority of the people!

14. Who ever said that lawmakers are trustable? It is the people's responsibility to force lawmakers to rescind bad laws, even those made with good intentions.

23. The metrics on ID cards help prevent fraud. Weight, eye and hair color can change, height is hard to judge accurately if you are seated in a car, but gender is usually easy to determine (with some exceptions) and eliminates about half of the people who might try to use a stolen card.

27. Anyone can make a judgment about your decisions and get mad at you if they think you've made a stupid one, especially those who have made bad ones themselves and don't want to see you suffer the same consequences.

32. Agreed.

41. Why would anyone use the symbols unless they either agreed with Nazi policies or wanted to trivialized the suffering of the victims?

44. Truly intelligent people can learn to socialize when necessary and find ways to deal with their own problems and those of society.

45. I hope that you believe in them because you have logically evaluated the evidence for and against them and they appear to be correct based on your current knowledge, but are open-minded enough to acknowledge that even your most cherished beliefs may someday be proven wrong.

49. Pain tolerance is a medical concept and must be evaluated in order to avoid over- or under-medicating patients, particularly those who are unable to tell you that they are in pain (see "pain scales" at http://painconsortium.nih.gov/pain_scales/index.html). You are very fortunate (or very young) if you have never had to find out just how much pain you can tolerate.

50. Yeah, it would be nice if soldiers agreed not to fight. But they usually don't have that choice (see "Christmas Truce" at http://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/truce.asp )

51. It is a stereotype to say that all women are "emotional" and is factually wrong. It is an opinion to say that you think that women in general are more emotional than men, presumably based on your own possibly-biased observations.

52 and 53. Being proud of and loyal to your our own family group/tribe/school/country/whatever is a biological and social adaptation that enhances individual and group survival. What's foolish about that?

76. Parents do not need a child's consent for anything because children's brains do not fully develop their judgmental capacity until the late teens and they do not have the experience to know what's best for them or the emotional maturity to choose long term benefits over immediate gratification. Certainly some parents make very bad decisions and harm their kids, but society generally acknowledges the rights of parents to raise kids as they see fit. Nobody has any "rights" other than those they have the power to impose on others or that are granted and enforced by their fellow human beings.

82. The definition of "marriage" varies with culture and individual beliefs. You can say whatever you like about it but will find it hard to convince those who believe otherwise.

104. Insults threaten the authority and power of politicians, who ultimately are answerable to the people. Insults can lead to physical threats and there is always the possibility of assassination.

105. Famous people are more likely to be targets. Why shouldn't those who can afford protection get it?

106. Drugs tests are for proof so that users can be helped or fired before their impairment harms someone else.

112. I don't think that it is saintly to suffer and IMO any religion that encourages needless suffering is unethical. Hurting yourself is not sinful but really, really, really stupid.

114. It is human nature to want your own family/social group to benefit, not just yourself. Racial problems arise when we make judgments based on appearance and culture instead of individual worth.

115. Affirmative action was implemented with good intentions but had some unintended consequences. No one should get preferential treatment based on race, color, age, gender, or anything except ability to do the job.

182. Any kid who thinks that copying adult actions such as drinking, smoking, or sex makes them look grown-up isn't thinking logically. Does playing with kid's toys make anyone think that an adult is a child?

195. Sitting still in church is simply having the good manners not to distract those around you. Politeness is not just for grownups, but most grownups have learned what behavior is appropriate for the situation and practice it instead of being completely self-centered and doing whatever they want. Sex is never appropriate for children, and you will understand why when you are an adult (bet you hate hearing that!)

196. Each generation modifies the morals they got from their parents to suit their own environment, by changing laws or the behaviors that are condoned or punished (dress codes, kissing in public, manners). Societies that cannot change when needed do not survive.

213. Have you ever been to the Holocaust Museum?

214. Do you think that someone who would shoot an armed policeman is going to hesitate to shoot any unarmed citizen who gets in his way?

225. I think you will agree that imposing rules without justifying them is wrong. It would be nice if everyone did the right thing for moral reasons and the threat of force was unnecessary, but that's not the real world.

238. Anorexics do not hurt anyone else. Drug addicts often do. Drug addicts are not usually in jail for hurting themselves but for hurting society by stealing or committing other crimes such as supporting the illegal drug trade.

Extras: the ban on alcohol use by teenagers is based on lack of judgment, not lack of awareness.

I really don't care who marries whom or why. You just have to find a jurisdiction where it is legal.

You'd have to be a real idiot to drink vanilla, and apparently it is not abused as much as cough syrup. There are a lot of other things you can buy legally that are bad for you.

The 29-year-old's brain presumably kept developing physically even though s/he was in a coma. In any case, the law is based on easily-determined chronological age because it is very difficult to determine mental age.