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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mary Cluney who wrote (154804)	12/26/2004 2:38:40 PM
From: one_less	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 281500

I don't think vengeance is a justifiable reason for using the US military, nor do I see that rational being promoted by the advocates of the operation. It is interesting to me that anti-death penalty and anti-war people typically promote vengeance as the primary issue. It is not, at least for me it is not. The issue is bringing liberty and justice to people who would not otherwise have the opportunity for it and who would otherwise be living under a brutal and despotic tyranny; while at the same time attempting to fortify ourselves against the threat of ever expanding terror networks. My personal experience with people who do that (labeling these things as being motivated by vengeance) is that they are full of reactive spite and malice (vengeful nature) toward anyone they disagree with, and have a tendency to project that vengefulness onto others and other issues. In the case of the death penalty the issue is not vengeance either. If that were the case we would be torturing criminals. Personally, I can't imagine a worse torture for my self than living out the rest of my life in a prison cell. The issue for heinous criminals is simply this: We have no effective means of reconciling that type of criminal with society. You cannot rehabilitate some criminal behavior to such an extent that the perp would be welcomed back into society as an equally valid member. At the same time you also cannot set up an alternative society for them in prisons that is a just measure for their heinous deeds. In fact we have found that some people find the environment quite rewarding, like Richard Speck. So, in some cases, providing a just system of accommodation for heinous criminals is simply beyond our capacity as human beings. It isn't veangence to return them to their creator where perfect justice awaits them.