Taoish Morals

Over on my ...You Might Be a Taoist website I received an email from a gentleman named "mike" who didn't leave me a return email address so I couldn't respond to him personally, so hopefully he stumbles over here...

In reference to the line "If you believe that you can be moral without religious guidelines... you might be a Taoist. (Verse 19)" he asked, "What universally accepted guideline exists to determine where the "moral" line is? If you can indeed be moral, you must have a standard. If there is a standard, then by definition it is universally accepted. What standard would a Taoist use?"

"Moral" from a Philosophical Taoist standpoint would be whatever is in harmony with Tao. Pointing out another's moral failings would not be something a Philosophical Taoist would do.

Having said that, I couldn't imagine that killing anything unless you were going to eat it or prevent it from killing you would be acceptable to a Taoist. I can't imagine that any sort of verbal or physical violence from bullying to rape to war would be acceptable to a Taoist. Lying and stealing are pretty much out.

Maybe verse 54 is a better reference point: 
Cultivate Tao within oneself; and one's virtue will be perfected.
Cultivate it within the household, and one's virtue will be abundant.
Cultivate it within the neighborhood, and one's virtue will be enduring.
Cultivate it within the nation, and one's virtue will be overflowing.
Cultivate it within the entire world, and one's virtue will be universal.