Originally posted by plawrence:
But in our society we sometimes have to allow for "moral wrongs" when they are for the greater good.
Originally posted by Double-J:
Horseshit. Let's call a 'spade' a 'spade.'
Not sure exactly what you mean by that.
Originally posted by Partagas:
So you are saying the end justify's the means?
Who defines the "greater good"?
Yes,I'm saying that the ends justify the means.
Like there's something wrong with that?
We do it all the time, don't we?
Doesn't the right argue that the war in Iraq is a case of the ends justifying the means?
Personally, and I know that not everyone will agree with me on this one, but I find the telephone solicitations that I get to contribute to various charities and such to be rather annoying.
I would much prefer to see something like research for diabetes and other diseases to be fully funded by the government, with everyone paying their fair share through taxes.
But I put up with the phone calls and the junk mail because I figure that they need the money, so the ends justify the means.
Aren't the abridgements of some of our civil liberties in the name of "The War on Terror" a means to justify the ends?
When we have in place in this country a welfare system that encourages young women to have more babies out of wedlock so they can increase the size of their welfare benefits, isn't giving them this money an unsatisfactory means to a necessary end, because otherwise their children might die of malnutrition?
Listen, the idea of abortion doesn't thrill me or make me happy.
I see perfectly clearly the arguments against it, and some of them are quite logical.
But IMO it's a means to a better end than the consequences of not having legalized abortion.
Now, as far as "who decides" what is in the "greater good"....
Society does, through their laws and the actions of their government.
I happen to believe that our government was instrumental in covering up for the real perpetrators JFK assassination, but they did so because they thought that the greater good was in not having us know the truth.
This whole business going on now with this UAE company taking over the operation of some of our ports:
Bush is now saying that it's important that we show our Arab allies in the "War on Terror" that we trust them, and this is one way to do it.
Well, I agree. We
should show our Arab allies in the "War on terror" that we trust them. That's an admirable end.
But I don't like the means. Do you?
