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[text deleted] At some point, I will learn that HN is not the place for intelligent expression of political expression divergent from its denizens' norms. My

[text deleted] At some point, I will learn that HN is not the place for intelligent expression of political expression divergent from its denizens' norms. My bad.

burntsushi 13y ago
> We cannot have a military like that. Instead, we have a military that slaughters innocent people with zero accountability. Fuck that.
burntsushi 13y ago
I can be snooty too. At some point, I will learn that many people just aren't capable of pulling the blinders off and realizing that killing thousands of innocent people every year without any sort of accountability is just complete lunacy. Honestly, it seems like your definition of "intelligent" is "middle of the mainstream road." I can't really see how that holds up to tell you the truth.
- chernevik 13y ago
  You assume that all consciences will reach the same conclusion as yours. They don't. They haven't. A military "accountability" of individual conscience would essentially be a reversion to feudalism, with armed power first migrating to leaders based on visions of conscience, then deteriorating to coalitions of interest. And now you're back at "might makes right" but without any ethic to get you out. Even granting we are killing thousands of innocents without accountability, Manning's statement is not a safe way out.
  - burntsushi 13y ago
    > You assume that all consciences will reach the same conclusion as yours. They don't. They haven't. That was my point. I was returning the undue egoism. > And now you're back at "might makes right" but without any ethic to get you out. That's where we are right now. It's the definition of democracy (close enough to republican government for the pedants). > Even granting we are killing thousands of innocents without accountability, Manning's statement is not a safe way out. Anything that reduces our imperialistic tendencies is safer than allowing the imperialistic tendencies to grow. To throw it back at you: might doesn't make right.

[text deleted] At some point, I will learn that HN is not the place for intelligent expression of political expression divergent from its denizens' norms. My bad.

burntsushi 13y ago

> We cannot have a military like that. Instead, we have a military that slaughters innocent people with zero accountability. Fuck that.

burntsushi 13y ago

I can be snooty too. At some point, I will learn that many people just aren't capable of pulling the blinders off and realizing that killing thousands of innocent people every year without any sort of accountability is just complete lunacy. Honestly, it seems like your definition of "intelligent" is "middle of the mainstream road." I can't really see how that holds up to tell you the truth.

chernevik 13y ago
You assume that all consciences will reach the same conclusion as yours. They don't. They haven't. A military "accountability" of individual conscience would essentially be a reversion to feudalism, with armed power first migrating to leaders based on visions of conscience, then deteriorating to coalitions of interest. And now you're back at "might makes right" but without any ethic to get you out. Even granting we are killing thousands of innocents without accountability, Manning's statement is not a safe way out.
- burntsushi 13y ago
  > You assume that all consciences will reach the same conclusion as yours. They don't. They haven't. That was my point. I was returning the undue egoism. > And now you're back at "might makes right" but without any ethic to get you out. That's where we are right now. It's the definition of democracy (close enough to republican government for the pedants). > Even granting we are killing thousands of innocents without accountability, Manning's statement is not a safe way out. Anything that reduces our imperialistic tendencies is safer than allowing the imperialistic tendencies to grow. To throw it back at you: might doesn't make right.