Apparently in Romanticism it was considered morally right to break the law if your intentions were good. This puts lawmakers and enforcers in quite the jam. And didn't they ever hear the saying "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions"?
Despite the obvious problems and consequences that could come from this type of thinking, I do think that sometimes it is okay to break the law if you have a good reason. The best example I can think of is a man with his pregnant wife that is about to give birth. As long as he doesn't crash into anyone, I think it is more than okay if he breaks several speed laws rushing her to the hospital.
Back in the olden days of stereotypical western movies, killing was also alright under the correct circumstances. Dueling was the norm for many, many years and was considered the gentleman's way of settling matters of honor. We learned in A.P. U.S. History that Alexander Hamilton was killed in a duel by Aaron Burr. Though in this case, the people tried to punish Burr because he killed Hamilton. Either way, I find it incredibly stupid. Nothing says gentlemen like randomly shooting in the hopes of killing the person standing across the street from you.
I bet a lot of people in this class used the example of a hungry person stealing food to feed their family. This is only acceptable to me if certain conditions are met by the person who is doing the stealing. Its really complicated. If the person is stealing from someone who can actually handle being stolen from, then it's better. Like Robin Hood, only not dressed in green. Also, kleptomaniacs don't count because they don't even really have the thought process required to make a desicion not to steal.
Superhero comics are awesome for that kind of thing. Especially Batman because he's got that vigilante angle going on. He breaks the law sometimes in his pursuit of the various vile villians that pervade the pages. But it's okay because he always gets the villians in the end. And he's Batman.
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