"But the greatest menace to our civilization today is the conflict between
giant organized systems of self-righteousness - each system only too
delighted to find that the other is wicked - each only too glad that the
sins give it the pretext for still deeper hatred and animosity." - Herbert
Butterfield

This I fear fuels our desire to "help" the rest of the world see what is
"right" and "good". And we are all to willing to kill to prove we are
"good" and they are "evil".

Yeah like in Bosina. We should have let the serbs do what they wanted.



On Fri, 9 Jul 2004 20:05:30 -0400, "Gary"
wrote:

"But the greatest menace to our civilization today is the conflict between
giant organized systems of self-righteousness - each system only too
delighted to find that the other is wicked - each only too glad that the
sins give it the pretext for still deeper hatred and animosity." - Herbert
Butterfield

This I fear fuels our desire to "help" the rest of the world see what is
"right" and "good". And we are all to willing to kill to prove we are
"good" and they are "evil".

On Fri, 9 Jul 2004 20:05:30 -0400, "Gary"
wrote:

"But the greatest menace to our civilization today is the conflict between
giant organized systems of self-righteousness - each system only too
delighted to find that the other is wicked - each only too glad that the
sins give it the pretext for still deeper hatred and animosity." - Herbert
Butterfield

This I fear fuels our desire to "help" the rest of the world see what is
"right" and "good". And we are all to willing to kill to prove we are
"good" and they are "evil".


Unfortunately, it is too easy to decide what is diffferent is evil.
Certainly the atrocity of 'ethnic cleansing' in Bosnia and other
places in the past, and now in the Sudan is wrong.

But a larger question is, how much effort must we make to stamp out
evil? And which is the greater evil? Allowing 'ethnic cleansing', or
the inevitable killing of bystanders while trying to stop it?

How about the polio epidemic sweeping through parts of Africa
because the (mainly Moslem) leaders felt it was ACTUALLY a program to
sterilize the children? How about the aids epidemic, also
devastating Aftrica? How about the root causes?

No, I don't have any easy answers, but I sure wish I did!

PlainBill