Phil:
Without engaging in an impossibly broad investigation, consider those who recently demonstrated that they couldn’t tell the difference between a terrorists act and the act of someone fighting terrorism. I continue to think that this problem is one of education. We no longer teach logic. We no longer think it important. Have I committed a fallacy? So what? Answer me anyway. Such views demonstrate an abysmal lack of something. What would you call it? By definition it must include the inability to think logically.
With heat someone was appalled that Eric would advocate the death of terrorists. She saw no difference between Eric’s killing terrorists and Terrorists killing their victims. Carry this out to its, excuse the _expression_, logical extreme and we deny our right to protect ourselves against terrorism. We cannot kill Terrorists because that is what Terrorists do – they kill us. So we don’t kill them. Does that stop them from killing us? No, of course not. Terrorists while not noted for their grasp of logic either (witness their interest in conspiracy theories, Qutb’s ideas, etc) nevertheless aren’t bedeviled by this particular illogical idea. They very much believe in killing infidels of all sorts and varieties.
Applying (excuse the _expression_ again) logic to the matter, if we determine that we do not wish the Terrorists to destroy us, we must (excuse the _expression_) fight against them. “Fight” in this case includes killing them since that is what they are doing to us. We can play with other ways of stopping them to placate the faint of heart, or our own liberal consciences, but if necessary, we should not balk at killing them. That’s if we do indeed want to stop them, or if we object to becoming Muslim, or if we object to accepting Islamist ideology, etc. The other approach, the gasping and stepping back as from a pile left by a dog in a yard sounds dainty and caring, but it is abysmally lacking in thought – “thought” being something one does logically.
Lawrence
-----Original Message-----
From: lit-ideas-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:lit-ideas-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Phil Enns
Sent: Thursday, January 04, 2007 10:58 AM
To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: Fw: Re: Re: Max Boot
'Andy' wrote:
"It's all baloney?"
Correct.
'Andy' continues:
"No explanation, just human nature"
Nope. Just, 'No explanation'.
'Andy' concludes:
"If you disagaree, answer the questions above."
They are the wrong questions, but I understand your attachment to them.
Sincerely,
Phil Enns
Glen Haven, NS
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