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According to your logic and the US judicial system, there a re more evil people in the US than in any other nation in the world. How else do you explain the fact that 700 out of every 100,000 US citizens is in jail? That's the highest prison population rate in the world.
There are several ways to explain this that do not nessesarily term the entire US evil.
-Stricter laws
-More efficient law enforcement (look at Britain)
-more efficient court system (again, look at our friends across the pound)
That is a difference, not nessesarily a bad one. You can't think that cops all around adhere to the same exact laws and arrest the maximum amount of people they can. Its just stupid. Its a compliment to the law enforcement of the US that they can be that efficient in comparison to their european counterparts.
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It doesn't matter what your excuse is for killing people. They might have done things that harm others, but they are still people. You cannot excuse the fact that both the governments of China and the US take the lives of their citizens.
Thats a stupid, personal remark. You are against the death penalty- I could give a shit. You're saying there is no difference in killing someone who killed 600 people, or raped and killed a 6 year old girl, and someone who gets killed because they dared to talk about something that the glorious leaders didn't think they should.
Its rather insulting to the people who died because of believing in something that they shouldn't have, equating their loss to that of a murderer or rapist.
But its your own damn personal choice, to not like the death penalty. But please feel free to leave it OUT of the discussion, hmm?
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It doesn't matter what they did. I don't believe that any person or group has the right to take the life of another. That goes for everybody. "They did something bad, so that means we can kill them to show that killing people is wrong." That's great logic, hypocrites. We (the US) are just as bad as they (China) are, because we both do the same thing. To quote Tolkien: "Many that live deserve death. Some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them, Frodo? Do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. Even the very wise cannot see all ends."
Noble words, but in the end useless. You either act and judge to the best of your ability or you leave yourself open to someone who is doing the same. Perhaps you made a mistake, yes, perhaps the people you are attacking don't deserve to be attacked, but
given the information that we have the best judgement is to attack. The risk of not attacking is far greater than the risk of attacking.
Also, again, not all deaths are the same. Though obviously the person does not care- he is dead- how people percieve the death matters as well. You fail to recognize that becaus you are being a shiny-eyed idealist, pacificistic, etc. We cannot kill because killing is bad- but that is as idiotic a view as we must kill everybody because they might some day pose a threat to us, just the opposite end of the spectrum.
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Your definitions of evil are, of themelves, arbitrary. In certain african tribes, it is acceptable to kill a newborn child up to 7 days from its birth date. This is not considered murder. It is not considered evil. You do the same thing here, you're a murderer, and therefore evil. Definitions of right and wrong vary with every society, every culture, and every person. One man's sin is another man's salvation.
Everything- morality, life, free will- is essensially arbitrary. If you want to be scientific, there is no free will, but who the fuck cares? Arbitrary lines are nothing new, and saying that Gold draws an arbitrary line is as strong an attack as saying that his idea is just like a bunch of others.
Get a grip. Your own morality is arbitrary, as is most of philosophy in general at some point. Just because he is saying 'I draw my line in the sane HERE' and it isn't where YOU draw your line, doesn't mean he is wrong.
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Actually, dictatorships are quite efficient in all regards. From lawmaking (yes, dictatorships have laws too), to industry, to
anything the government controls. The inherent problem of a dictatorship is that all that power tends to go to one's head.
I would say that killing people to ensure peace is a pretty evil means to an end.
It is the best means. Again, be realistic. There is rarely a pure, shining, good way to ensure the safety of a country. 1 to 1, or on a small basis, it seems so simple. But put millions of lives that YOU are in charge of safegaurding and see how it changes. When your decision could save or kill millions, you must realise that the simplicity of everything changes.
The best information presented shows that Hussein will have the ability to kill millions or wreck our economy if he is left alone. With this, you have to decide- it is your JOB to ensure the safety of these people. What else can you do?
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Once again, the small metal box. The US doesn't support their interests in Central and South America with money and weapons. Nope. None of that happens. People don't die every day in the name of US Fruit Co. or the War On Drugs. We don't train paramilitary groups to do our bidding. We also don't hear about any of those on CNN. The information is out there, you just have to want to find it.
That place is one big craphole. You can't conceivably blame the US for representing their interests in a way to ensure its safety in such a craphole region. The drug trafficing there has ruined the place, and most of it is run by drug lords. If we went in there to try to straiten it out, why we'd be branded despots and evil people by people like you. Also no one there poses a threat.
Therefore, to ensure our businesses and other interests do not get destroyed, we send in paramilitary people to protect them. Fairly simple. No matter how much you disagree with the personal politics that we did (once again, done by our predecessors) right now there is nothing we can conceivably do.
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You can think what you want to think.
You can do what you won't get busted for. Joe Average American can't smoke a joint in the privacy of his own home. Jane Average American can't walk around without a shirt on. I would argue that neither of those harm anybody, but you still can't do them.
You can only buy what you're sold.
You can say what you want as long as nobody notices or cares. There's a reason there are only 2 political parties in this country.
You can run the corporate treadmill your whole life just to buy some stuff you don't need.
You can't marry anyone you want if you're gay. Except in Vermont. But your union isn't recognized anywhere else.
I suppose you still can have as many kids as you want. Unless Roe v. Wade is overturned.
You can associate with whomever you chose, but not without consequence. The Black Panthers were targeted by the FBI. There are dozens of social and political groups that are under survailence. You can be busted just for belonging to one of them.
Sigh...more paranoia 'teh usa is teh devil, I'm so sorry teh world is so much >>>>>>>> USA plz plz forgive boo hoo' BS.
1) Those are moral things, which were legislated by the people because THE PEOPLE OF THE USA decided neither of those things were morally acceptable. You have a problem? Take it up with the people.
2) Um...yeah...its called an exchange of services. Money instead of bartering like in ancient times. Much more efficient, ne? Or are you thinking we should all just give each other everything and we'll all just run and skip and dance and play?
3) Probably because the 2 parties are fairly broad, and most americans agree with one of the two parties. Its ad hoc, not because of some uber-conspiracy to suppress evil evil thoughts.
4) Whats the point of that again? Oo, evil CORPORATE TREDMILL! EVIL EVIL EVIL! DIE!
Have you been so initiated into this kind of thinking that you immediately associate any kind of exchange of services as evil?
5) Thats because marriage is a christian thing, and most christians do not believe that being gay is moral. There is still a category that puts gays as partners and have essensially the rights of a married couple, its just they can't have the christian tradition of marriage. But how the people of the US saying 'no, this is immoral I don't think gays should be allowed to marry as per christian doctrine' bad?
6) Er...what?
7) The last sentence is false. Hoover surveillanced parties he felt were immoral or unamerican. This included black panthers, MLK jr, and the Klan. He didn't arrest anyone until they committed a crime. You cannot be arrested for associating with those people- perhaps you should take a look at laws some time.
Additionally, see no reason not to surveil radical groups such as the black panthers and the klan. Its about as immoral as surveiling terrorists.
End
-Kills Commies
"Our sons, pride of our nation, this day have set forth on a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our republic, our religion and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity..." (General Dwight D. Eisenhower, June 7th, 1944)