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Politics : Bill Clinton Scandal - SANITY CHECK -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: greenspirit who wrote (39720)	3/22/1999 8:35:00 AM
From: jlallen	Respond to of 67261

Excellent! JLA

To: greenspirit who wrote (39720)	3/22/1999 11:13:00 AM
From: Johannes Pilch	Respond to of 67261

You several times have touched upon a very important matter, the matter concerning the efficacy of philosophical positions. While the Founding Fathers may not have much considered the plight of Blacks, and in some cases may even have considered them sub-human, contrary to Melinda's contention they certainly did not codify these views into our nation's law. The Fathers, even Thomas Jefferson with his notions of the inferiority of Blacks to Whites, dealt expressly with principle in developing the doctrines under which this country operates. And however they felt personally about Blacks, the moment these men laid down principle, the ethical and logical path of this country was virtually chiseled in stone. Indeed the very moment Jefferson penned the Declaration of Independence, slavery philosophically ended in America. The Declaration itself served as a philosophical gun pointed incessantly toward slavery's head, for a hundred years silently awaiting someone with courage and power enough to take it in hand and pull the trigger. Many abolitionists tried to take up this philosophical weapon, and they certainly had enough courage and conviction to do so. But they lacked power to use it. It took Abraham Lincoln, a man who had not the conviction of the abolitionists (but who had at least enough to take the weapon in hand), to use his unique power as president of the United States to actually pull the trigger. The consequent death his action caused is stunning even today, and yet today hardly anyone blames him for it because he had the philosophical authority, given him by the Fathers, to cause death for his cause. As long as America had men who so much as thought highly of principle and integrity, slavery had to die. It eventually would have died regardless of Lincoln because the principles codified into law by the Fathers demanded its death. We further see how effective a philosophical gun can be by revisiting the example of Dr. Martin Luther King. To fire upon the illogical societal inequities of his day, King gazed upon the exact same weapon used by Lincoln (a weapon we must remember was given him by Jefferson who himself received it from God), picked it up, and because he had on his side power and people who yet valued integrity, he pulled the trigger without so much as a thought. This is why the underlying philosophies and principles of our positions are so crucial to our civilization. Should we accept positions based upon sound principle and codify these into law, then even should we roundly and routinely break the law, the logical authority will yet exist for our correction, serving as a philosophical gun ever pointed toward our errors. If on the other hand we accept positions based upon faulty principle, and codify these into law, then the logic of these faulty principles will cry for fulfillment, itself serving as a gun pointed not toward the heads of errors, but toward the heads of people and sound ideas. While those who initially codify philosophical defects may enjoy some facade of convenience, the philosophical weapons they create will assuredly await someone with courage and power enough to take them up and fire them upon society. When they do they will have the authority they require because the defective philosophy upon which they depend will have been codified into law.