Then treat the Templars the same way. They can have a serious addiction to lyrium that's been proven to affect their judgement, they can let power go straight to their head and have succumbed to the temptation of demons. I'm not even talking Wilmod; I'm talking about the Templar enslaved by the desire demon during Broken Circle.
I don't think a demon-controlled Templar is any safer for Thedas than an abomination. As I've stated in previous threads, all it takes is a lust of power and a lack of morals and poof! You're now as much of a dangerous monster as an abomination, if not more so. The true ruler of most of Thedas, the Chantry, is going to back you up. All you have to say as a Templar to get away with almost anything is "They tried to use blood magic on me."
It's the law, but the law is wrong and must be changed. Laws that have failed as badly as the Circle system has need to be change. There is no going back to the way things were. Might as well look towards other solutions.
I do think the Chantry is continuing to punish mages. They haven't even tried to come up with a better system for 1000 years, and you think that isn't a punishment? Mages are still being punished for the sins that a few jerks made a millennia ago. Yes, I believe that this constant restriction on personal freedom is a punishment. Bethany alone is proof that the Circles as an internment system aren't needed. A good teacher is much more important. The Circles didn't prevent Uldred from going full on crazy. The mages really don't need a bunch of drug addicts telling them that an abomination is dangerous. They don't need the Chantry droning on and on about "magic serving man," while they treat the mages as useful tools that are to be set aside or discarded as needed.
Ok,guess I'll start from the beginning.
1- Templars and laws.
The reason mages are treated differently from normal people does not stem from a diminished moral character from their part but rather from an increased threat. In society, every single person has his or her freedoms restricted from birth due to the inherent threat human beings pose to each other; it's what the law exists for, to tell us what we can't do and to punish us if we do those things in order to discourage others from commiting.
And these restrictions apply to all independently of whether they have given evidence of being harmful or not; they apply to all because we all have the potential to cause harm to others. Now, in our societies these restrictions can be equal because we are equal. Maybe not socially but physically; we can all pick up a gun and start shooting.
In Thedas, this is not true. Mages are much more dangerous to society at large than anyone else and they can be dangerous even without meaning to such as in case of Abominations. This is why Templars and normal people in general are not treated the same as mages; because altough they are just as corruptible, their threats are much more easily containable.
2-Mages and the danger they pose.
The dangers of magic are threefold.
1- Blood magic and mind control.
This should be self-explanatory. Mind control is a terrifying ability; how can non-mages be treated as equals when mages can easily control their minds to do whatever they please and even erase memories? How can it be proven a crime was even commited? How can it be proven the reason that noble is promoting mage interests is not because he has been controlled by blood magic? How can it be fought?
You can claim that there are moral mages who would not do these things and that is true but there are also very immoral mages who would do just that; how can we tell which from which?
And of course, morality does not matter when it comes to...
2-Abominations. Abominations can be created by something as banal as stress, as mundane as losing one's wife. All it takes is a slip and suddenly mages are a weapon of mass destruction in the hands of creatures that wish for nothing but to cause suffering.
And there is simply no avoiding this; everyone's life is stressfull; even the most moral and kind person can be pushed to the edge. If mages live outside of the Circle, some will become Abominations and thousands of people will die. All of this is avoidable by containing mages.
Yes, it is true that this did not prevent Uldred from becoming an Abomination but the fact it ocurred inside the Circle prevented untold destruction. Not a single civillian lost his/her life to Uldred's minions because Uldred became an Abomination in an isolated area where he was surrounded by fortifications, natural defenses and armed soldiers trained to deal with his ilk. The Circle worked in that situation.
And Abominations are not the worst of it. Oh no, the worst is...
3-Magic is an advantage.
First of all, let us extablish one thing. We can agree that a society dominated by mages where normals are second class citizens is a bad thing, correct.
And yet, that is the case of every single non-Andrastian society. The Dalish are ruled by their Keepers who are always mages. The rivaini are rulled by a council of Seers, Tevinter has the Magisters, the Chasind have their shaman. All societies where mages are free and in every single one of them, mages became the dominant class. There is not a single example of a society where mages were free and did not extablish themselves as rulers.
This is because societies are, inevitably, competitive. And magic is an advantage, a tool that allows those who possess it to place themselves above those who do not. Now, I am sure that not every mage becomes a ruler; because it does not wish to play these games, for one; but every one wishes to ellevate their quality of life; this is not something immortal so, just because there are good mages like Bethany will not prevent this; and this includes the mages. And as they do so, it is inevitable that non-mages become unable to compete with their magical counterparts which will lead that more and more political powers is placed in the hands of mages which will lead to mages becoming the dominant social class.This will not stem from a desire to extablish a second Tevinter but simply because society is competitive.
And once they are entrenched there, non-mages will live in the manner mages wish for them to live and it will be extremely difficult to dislodge them.
This is yet another reason the Circle exists.
In conclusion: are mages more falible than any other human being? No, but the problem is that they also do not have a superior moral character either.
Freedom for mages will lead to magical accidents, Abominations and, eventuall, mage supremacism. The Circle averts this.
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