> [Krimel] > We and they have evolved differing sets of moral expression to maintain > our cultures and to pass them on to our children. These separate moral > codes evolved under different conditions. They are different but both seem
> to be effective. [Platt] So we shouldn't interfere in anyone's culture so long as it is effective? Should we have interfered in Bosnia? [Krimel] This isn't really about politics but to the extent that it is we should cooperate with the UN on matters of this sort. [Platt] Right. My question was, "Would it be moral if we had interfered on the basis of that genocide alone/" [Krimel] As I attempted to point out there have been plenty of post World War II opportunities to end genocides and we turned away. I think Jimmy Carter was right in saying that our foreign policy should reflect our Values. > [Krimel] > Should we have intervened > in Cambodia, Uganda, Rwanda? I would say that according to OUR moral code > we should offer assistance when we are asked to do so. [Platt] Asked by whom? Does "offers assistance" mean sending in armed forces to stop the killing? [Krimel] Asked by the aggrieved parties. Asked by our partners in the UN. I really don't think unilateral intervention is in our own best interests, ever. Even Daddy Bush knew that. > [Krimel] > In fact according to our > own moral code we should be doing far far more to feed the starving, cure > the sick and educate the illiterate at home and abroad. [Platt] Including cultures who have harmed us and threaten more? And what is "our moral code" anyway? Christian? [Krimel] Yes we should and have been generous to our enemies. We do embrace Judeo-Christian ethics in this country. I rather like them. It is Christian theology that tends to be problematic. > [Krimel] > Perhaps Muslims believe that tolerance for blasphemy is a greater threat > to the fabric of their society than freedom of speech. Rather like the > Christian Right's stand on pornography or the Bush administration's view > of civil liberties in general. [Platt] When you see freedom of speech squelched by Christians or the Bush administration by imposing jail terms and whippings, do let us know. [Krimel] You mean things like the Christian call to reinstitute school prayer or to require biology teachers to teach theology? Or the administration holding people without charges or recourse to council? That sort of thing? [Platt] I would suggest that political correctness as practiced on college campuses is a far more like the Muslim approach to preserving society's fabric than anything Christians or the Bush Administration do. Maybe you won't get a whipping for violating campus speech codes, but if found guilty you face involuntary "sensitivity training" at best and expulsion at worst. You would think a college campus would be the last place where free speech ought to be inhibited. [Krimel] While I find some aspects of this as disturbing as you do, I do not think it as serious as you make it out to be. And I do think people should avoid ethnic slurs and racial stereotyping. [Platt] Gee, I didn't know the earth had lungs. [Krimel] Yes oddly enough oxygen does grow on trees and plants and plankton in the seas. [Platt] Are volcanoes the earth's ass holes? [Krimel] No, that would be Republicans. [Platt] (Sorry. I couldn't resist.) [Krimel] (Sorry, me either.) Moq_Discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/
