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Politics : Just the Facts, Ma'am: A Compendium of Liberal Fiction -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bill who wrote (48997)	6/20/2006 11:57:27 AM
From: Solon	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 90947

Bill, we've discussed the death penalty before. We've discussed it in the framework of a civilized society. You remember that my sole objection to the death penalty is my belief both that mistakes may and have happened...and that none of us are immune from the actions or intents of corrupt people in law enforcement. The easiest thing to abuse is authority. Having said that, one hopes and presumes that many or perhaps most people in law enforcement abuse our trust in only minimal ways. Our discussion considered citizens of our respective civilized nations having due regard for the rights of one another and holding mutual values regarding justice even while differing on the fine details of justice. The current scenario is somewhat different in that outright butchers (not under the aegis of civilized governance and not entitled to the rights of citizenship) having committed the most barbaric and beastly acts imaginable as a declared enemy, ought not to enjoy the same standards of caution as fellow citizens. This is a prejudice and one which I may revise at a later time, but it is one that comes to me on first reflection. I think in the arena of warfare, the ideas of murder and punishment are somewhat different than in civilian life. When a declared enemy declares themselves outside of the conventions that compel fair and humane treatment in war, then those at risk from their promise of barbarism and inhumane treatment may in their own defense act outside of those conventional boundaries as well. It is unfair that one side be handcuffed by obedience to rules that are flagrantly violated by the other party. This is not to hope that an allied soldier would be barbaric, but rather to discern a difference between an enemy who agrees to fight within a civilized framework and an enemy who boastfully practices savagery. The latter cannot expect a compassionate response to his barbarism...