Re: What Pisses You Off?
Originally Posted by
Tracy
I can't stand the guy either. However, there are at least three reasons why we can't do that (I can only think of three, but I know there are more). First of all, as Americans, we have to hold ourselves above such behavior. How many times have you heard that we live in the greatest country on earth? If we tortured this guy, we're behaving like some third world uncivilized country that doesn't follow any morals or rules. Speaking of rules....that brings up number two....I'm by far an expert, but I'm pretty sure that torturing this guy would violate not only our constitution but the Geneva Convention. REALLY not sure we want to do that. Finally, as awful as this guy is....thinkin that we need to get as much info from him as possible. We need to know if him and his brother were in this by themselves or if they were working for another organization...if so, who?....if so, who's the leader of such organization....etc. If you torture this guy, he's pretty much going to tell you whatever you want to hear. In short, we really can not sink to that level.
Well put, Tracy. Rational Americans understand that we can’t stake a claim to the moral high ground by pissing on it. It’s what has always distinguished US from THEM. Righteous anger is not only understandable, it’s justified. But when we let that anger take control of our emotions and respond in kind, we narrow that distinction considerably. It’s something with which the nation’s chest-thumping moral absolutists and “eye-for-an-eye” proponents need to come to grips.
These two murdered four people and injured over two hundred others—maiming several of them for life. And this doesn’t include the multiple millions in property damage. As such, I’ve not lost a second’s worth of sleep over the death of the older brother, nor am I able to self-generate as much as an ounce of sympathy for the 19-year-old scumbag who survived.
But we need to adhere to the mandates of the Constitution that everyone claims to love, respect, and understand. Unless he pleads guilty—and some reliable indications point to his already having confessed—we need to prosecute him to the fullest extent that both federal and state laws permit and apply the maximum penalty upon adjudication of guilt.
Regards,
Joe Walther
Drinking under a different name is not the same thing as joining Alcoholics Anonymous.
Reply With Quote
