[lit-ideas] Re: Some of you may remember ... ueber-gaffe
- From: wokshevs@xxxxxx
- To: Eric Yost <mr.eric.yost@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 12 Oct 2008 16:30:04 -0230
The claim "It's a free country" irrelevantly invokes the matter of political
legitimacy. Legitimacy has no necessary reference to justification. The
difference is captured in the argument: "The people have decided. And so be it
since we have a right to be wrong." This makes sense politically where the
source of authority is consensus by the polity but it is nonsensical as a
ground of justifiable moral judgement. I was trying to say something in the
domain of the latter not the former. (Nor did I have any opinions to offer
regarding the value of name-calling.)
Walter O
MUN
Quoting Eric Yost <mr.eric.yost@xxxxxxxxx>:
> >> I don't see how "culturally inappropriate" can
> intelligibly be divorced from the "should" in this case.
>
> It's a free country. That makes "should" stronger than
> is required by the polity. If you're dining with
> someone who begins the meal by
>
> *standing up, shouting "Heil Hitler!" and then falling
> on the food like a Panzer division on Czechoslovakia, or
>
> *praising Allah, and earnestly praying for the
> destruction of all Americans while throwing non-halal
> food on the walls, or
>
> *setting fire to their shirt and asking you to do the
> same to honor Agni the Fire God,
>
> you may leave their presence and never dine with them
> again. You may or may not report them as dangers to the
> society. But they are almost certainly assholes.
>
> The deciderer,
> Eric
>
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