----- Original Message ----- From: "Gautam Mukunda" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Killer Bs Discussion" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, February 06, 2004 1:11 PM Subject: Re: Good and evil (was Re: Reviews for Mel Gibson's "ThePassion of the Christ")
> > The argument that everyone doesn't see things the same > way doesn't make things any less black or white (in > some instances). All too often let me suggest that > the claim that things "aren't black or white" is a > sign of moral laziness - the unwillingness to make a > judgment, either because judgment itself is considered > to be a bad thing, or because making the (obvious) > judgment would require action. > > There are a few examples from very recent history. > Let's ignore the obvious of 9/11. How about the > genocide in Rwanda? Black and white? Clearly it was > - it was black and white that this was a very bad > thing. It might have been unclear whether something > should have been done about it (I happen to think that > we should have intervened, but many people I greatly > respect feel otherwise) but I don't think it was > anything but black and white that it was evil in its > purest sense. Yet clearly some people (the people > committing the acts, after all) disagreed. > > How about North Korea? It's fairly common to hear > people say that the North Korean situation isn't black > and white. That's bullshit. Nothing more than moral > cowardice from people who don't want to face what's > actually happening in that country. It _is_ black and > white. The North Korean government is distilled evil > in a form that approaches that of Stalin or Hitler. I think you alluded to what isn't black or white in both cases. I agree, it doesn't matter that some people think the actions in Rwanda and the actions by the North Korean government are justified and moral. They aren't, they were and are evil. What isn't black and white is the response to that evil. One moral reason for not intervening immediately in North Korea is that it would probably result hundreds of thousands of South Korean casualties. If this is what is meant by a given poster, then the only real fault was imprecision....something I know I've been guilty of from time to time. But, I agree that pure moral relativism is, at best, moral laziness. At worst, its an excuse for horrid behavior. Dan M. _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
