"John D. Giorgis" wrote:
>
> At 11:32 PM 3/5/01 -0800 Doug Pensinger wrote:
> >
> >Saying /= doing. Pounding your chest, waving your hat and yelling "Follow
> >me!" does not make you a leader. Neither does proclaiming yourself morally
> >superior make you so. Especially keeping in mind, as others have pointed
> out,
> >that morality is largely relative.
>
> This is bait and switch Doug.
Poorly expressed, mia culpa. What I'm trying to say (I think) is that
righteousness, like leadership, is best expressed via deeds rather than words.
> This was very relevant in the context of our original discussion. You
> proposed that "those that proclaim themselves morally superior are, by
> definition, not." I am seeking to disprove the proposition. The above
> question would almost certainly get a great many people to proclaim
> themselves morally superior - I am now asking you to follow up on the
> consequences of your proposition, and say that none of these people
> answering "yes" to the above question would, in fact, be morally superior.
>
Answering a question, especially a moot question such as the one you offered*,
is not the same as proclaiming moral superiority. And example of proclaiming
moral superiority would be the leader of one country calling another country
an "evil empire".
proclaim:
1 a : to declare publicly, typically insistently, proudly, or defiantly and in
either speech or writing : ANNOUNCE b : to give outward indication of : SHOW
2 : to declare or declare to be solemnly, officially, or formally
3 : to praise or glorify openly or publicly : EXTOL
Answering a yes or no question would not be a proclamation.
*moot because with the possible exception of a few other dead people, no one
is/was as amoral as Hitler.
Doug
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
definition courtesy of Miriam Webster on line: http://www.yourdictionary.com/
