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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lane3 who wrote (212973)	7/22/2007 10:11:59 AM
From: Rambi	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 794206

People have a very difficult time getting beyond an emotional reaction when a word they perceive as positive is applied to a group or person they find abhorrent. "Moral equivalency" is a defense against having to apply the word. This same phenomenon occurred when someone said that it took courage to be a suicide bomber. The instinctive reaction was to attack the person saying it (and I bet the term moral equivalence was used then too). But her point was semantic. By definition, courage is "the state or quality of mind or spirit that enables one to face danger, fear, or vicissitudes with self-possession, confidence, and resolution; bravery." Another meaning was "to have the courage of one's convictions, to act in accordance with one's beliefs, esp. in spite of criticism." CoOurage is a word we Americans use for people who do difficult and admirable things, a word we use for our soldiers, a word of great appreciation and praise. To apply it to suicide bombers, the lowest of the low, was more than people could stomach, even if they did fit the definition. I think you run into the same reaction with the word martyr, since suicide bombers definitely fit in this part of the definition "One who makes great sacrifices or suffers much in order to further a belief, cause, or principle." I thought your analogy to weeds and flowers was excellent, by the way.

To: Lane3 who wrote (212973)	7/22/2007 10:13:14 AM
From: Lane3	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 794206

The Post has some interesting commentary under the heading "One Islam, Many Circles." I am hesitant to post any of it here but if any one is interested in a group of perspectives, you can find them here. washingtonpost.com

To: Lane3 who wrote (212973)	7/22/2007 2:14:41 PM
From: KLP	Respond to of 794206

Nice analogy with the flowers and weeds. Also, there are poisonous flowers and weeds, some harmful to other flowers and weeds, and some actually harmful or can kill humans. Top 10 Poisonous Plants livescience.com Daffodils are harmful to other flowers and can kill them.... thegardener.btinternet.co.uk Special Note - Daffodil stems exude a poisonous sap when cut. This will kill other flowers if Daffodils are conditioned in the same water. Therefore, they should always be conditioned separately. If they are being arranged in water, they should be arranged separately, but if being arranged in floral foam, this is not necessary, and they can be arranged together with other flowers.