If you are familiar with the "character alignment system" proposed by the Dungeons and Dragons roleplaying games, you will understand what I mean when I say I am "Lawful Good". And if you don't know what I mean, I highly suggest you familiarize yourself with "character alignment". Look it up online; I love explaining it to people in person, but this is the internet, where such things are easy to find.
Basically, though, the character alignment system suggests that there are nine "alignments" for characters, based on the ideas of "good vs. evil" and "law vs. chaos". A Lawful character either believes that laws and rules are necessary or else has a system of rules they follow. A Chaotic character either actively breaks laws and rules or else just doesn't follow rules. A Neutral character doesn't care about law vs. chaos. And I'm pretty sure we all understand the differences between Good, Neutral, and Evil. The nine alignments, then, would be Lawful Good, Lawful Neutral, Lawful Evil, Neutral Good, True Neutral, Neutral Evil, Chaotic Good, Chaotic Neutral, and Chaotic Evil.
I identify as Lawful Good: that is, someone who believes in rules and order and who uses the law (depending on how "law" is defined) in the pursuit of goodness, believing following the law is how one does good. This is all very interesting, but what does Lawful Good mean for me?
Well, let me explain what I mean by "lawful". I do not mean I strictly adhere to what is considered lawful by my legal system's standards. While I personally don't do anything illegal, I might not be afraid to if it meant I was doing the right thing, and I believe that doing the "lawful" thing is not always the "legal" thing. Rather, I adhere to a system of rules I have synthesized for myself (based in religion and an observation of what seems to work in practice). And by "system of rules", I mean "something that I actually have written up if I need to consult it" (which usually I don't because they're so internalized). These rules are meant to give my life and actions some structure (under which I function the best) and aid me in doing what's best for other people and (often) myself.
So that's why I identify as lawful, but why good? I used to identify as Lawful Neutral for some time, but now I consider myself good. It was because I was a little confused about what made someone "good". When you hear about "good" people, there tends to be a sense of emotion carried with it. "Good" people have an excess of empathy/sympathy and are compelled to help others for emotional reasons. I would describe myself as "emotionally-impaired", mostly where it concerns positive emotions. I have limited empathy (and was told this by my psychologist, with whom I agreed) and there is seldom an emotional impetus or result in regards to my acts of goodness.
I decided I was good because people told me I was good. I know that, depending on your system of morality (or lack thereof), that good acts or behavior can look very different depending on who you ask, but if you do believe in good, chances are your definition includes helping people and doing things that benefit others. Consider the Golden Rule, which is basically the same in all major religions: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." While this doesn't always work when applied literally (not every single person wants to be treated in a way that is consistent with the Golden Rule's intent), surely its intent includes helping people.
The reason I needed other people to tell me I was good was because I needed other people to point out that I was indeed helpful to them and thus doing things that are considered "good". Things I had done without intending to be good (but still following my personal rules) had nevertheless helped people tremendously (to the point where I have talked people out of suicide and self-harm without even knowing it). Had people not told me the tremendous benefit my actions had produced in them, I wouldn't have known that anything I did was worth calling "good". In other words, people told me I was good, and I realized they were correct. And the reason I was good was because I had rules I followed that led me to do good things.
And that is why I identify as Lawful Good.
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