 |
 |
Is what not a simple nostrum? -----Original Message----- From: Nancy Gish [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: Thursday, October 16, 2003 8:40 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Ot Re: Martin Sheen's Peace Prayer Is this not a "simple nostrum," and if not, what is it? It is hardly a complex analysis or new position. And is it not naive to say that choosing lesser evils is still choosing evil? The premise is that one has only those choices. Of course it would always be better to choose the wholly good, but then that is not always an option. I think it is very easy to call others simple but not very easy to find sufficiently complex responses. Nancy Perhaps when doing violence is the lesser of evils it is permissable, but it is still nonetheless evil. A world which constantly chooses the lesser of evils winds up choosing an awful lot of evil. I'm sure the Jewish priests who sought Jesus' crucifiction thought their action of klling Jesus was justified. Saying that violence in and of itself produces good is incredibly naive. The subject is immensely complex and not reducible to simple nostrums. P. -----Original Message----- From: Nancy Gish - Women's Studies [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: Thursday, October 16, 2003 3:53 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Ot Re: Martin Sheen's Peace Prayer There are two separate issues I think. One's response to the prayer is one thing, the possibility of violence doing good is another. I think the very ancient and carefully thought-out concept of "just war" is valid. I do not think Iraq fit the criteria in any way. But in fact, all human society has acknowledged that violence in defense of self or others can be valid. So unless one is going to say that it is ok to look on while someone or many people are murdered and do nothing, one is forced to grant that it is more complex than a total rejection of violence. To do nothing in the face of violence is itself a collusion in and support of violence, is it not? Nancy On 17 Oct 2003, at 0:42, Gunnar Jauch <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > am 16.10.2003 21:20 Uhr schrieb Tom Gray unter [log in to unmask]: > > > This prayer fails to recognize the legitimacy of > > violence to produce virtuous outcomes. > > > Dear Tom, > > there is NO such thing as the legitimacy of violence. And there never > will be. > > Violence will invariably produce more violence and eventually lead to mutual > destruction. The road to hell. > > Your calling this prayer naive saddens me. Think again. > > > Peace: > > > Gunnar