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Politics : Sharks in the Septic Tank -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: one_less who wrote (68115)	11/25/2002 7:02:50 PM
From: The Philosopher	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 82486

Okay. It's clear. Or it seems clear, though communication, even when well intentioned, is seldom 100%. But. Some people use civil liberties to irresponsibly perpetrate disgraceful behavior under the cloak of free speech. It is not usually actionable but definitely dishonorable. Yep. That's one of the prices of free speech. Everything in life has its price. And, of course, you have to accept that what one person or group of people thinks is disgraceful behavior others may think is highly honorable. The abortion issue brings us a perfect example. Clinic employees and their supporters think yelling at people entering clinics, pushing pamphlets on them telling them they are murdering their babies, etc. is disgraceful behavior. Those who do it think they are saving human lives, that they are the moral equivalent of people standing outside a concerntration camp trying to persuade the guards not to force the people to enter. (You may argue it's not a perfect analogy, because in one case it is voluntary and in the other it definitely isn't. But if you think of the baby as the victim and the mother as the guard bringing it into the concentration camp/abortion facility to be killed, it's an accurate analogy. Both involve lives that are valuable to some people but worthless to others. With apologies to Neo for bringing in an area that makes him uncomfortable, but I hope he will accept that the power of the example is important in making the point.) Whichever side, if either, you agree with, I think you have to accept that both sides believe they are acting from the highest motives, and that the other side is the closest they every want to come to evil incarnate. So "dishonorable" is a fine term to use, but really, it so often depends on where you stand.