Reply #328: One could make the same argument about war... [View All]

[Liberal Veteran]

War often means that we have to do really horrible and disgusting things to protect ourselves and our way of life. Reducing everything to black and white when we live a technicolor world is not productive.

Sometimes we have to get our hands dirty. That's a fact of life. Values and principals are good and well within reason.

Do you honestly believe that our actions in WW2 were unjustified? Did we cross the line and become the enemy by refusing to allow a menace to grow and conquer the world? Should we have said "violence is the way of the enemy and we will not stoop to their level" while they overran us?

You might want to ask yourself when you actually believe that we have to get our hands a little dirty to achieve a greater good.

Sometimes the means are justified by the end. Not always or even most time, but I when I was in the military, I made a conscious decision that I would kill if necessary to defend my country even though I personally deplore violence. Why? Because it was necessary. Because I understand that rigidly standing by a principle to the point of extinction is foolish.