<<< Instead we are going into an orgy of useless self-flagellation compounded with political correctness. If this winds up by giving the Geneva protections against questioning to Al Qaeda terrorists who are trying to launch WMD attacks against us and our allies, it will be worth a 1000 trained jihadis to Al Qaeda.>>>
We spend countless hours in school learning stuff and many of us spend countless hours in life searching for truth.
There is one simple truth that has been out there now for at least 2000 years. It has been vetted and it has never been contradicted and that is evil can not exist by itself. It will destroy itself. It can only exist if innocent people help to keep it alive.
What you are begging us to do is to say that we have to use all means available to combat evil - and what is heavily implied, although you don't think so, is that we sometimes have to use evil means against for you consider the greater good.
Take a good look at literature, at the Bible, at the teachings of all the great philosophers - by that I do not mean O'Reilly or Limbaugh and see what they are trying to say to us about revenge, hate, and evil.
Of course, you could set up all kinds of hypotheticals making a mockery of not committing evil - that is not a very difficult thing to do - but research the literature (Crime and Punishment, To Kill a Mockingbird, Moby Dick to mention only a few that teach only very specific lessons).
On the other hand, show me a list of great philosophers, great literary works, great religions, that teach hate, taking revenge, excuse the use of evil for the greater good. Please don't tell me about St. Augustine and the Just War theses - that belongs to the Catholic Church and they know what that means - they are the interpreters of that doctrine - not Bill O'Reilly. |
