His dudeness
Actually, it's as much "yes" as it is "no."
At the moral level, there is a difference. At the purely physical level, no. We humans are far more than purely physical, or purely moral. We are a mix of both. That said, I am glad they didn't hit your mom.
Your reductionist take on this discussion is an incomplete approach to a very human activity: intramural homicide, aka war. You will note that humans, in their infinite wisdom (or is it folly?) have crafted a thing called war crimes at the international level, which more or less judge whether or not a given kill was a valid kill.
That's a moral matter, and renders your "dead is dead" point true but utterly incomplete, and thus at least partly wrong.
A few other points:
If an SH pilot says that seeing SH aircrew of a different flag going down in flames and exploding makes uncomfortable viewing it is probably a glimmer of humanity and a 'there but for the grace of God' feeling rather than being a wimp ...
Spot on! That is how I felt the first time I saw the film clip. I spent some years as a Naval Helicopter pilot. I knew damned well that a hand held SAM, well directed ZSU-23 fire, or a variety of other surface to air fires, would put an end to me in a fashion similar to what happend to those fellows.
"It still remains to be seen whether having a hard-arsed secular dictator in charge is better or worse than having fundamentalist Al Quaeda run anarchy within spitting distance of Europe.
Good point, and quite frankly, the most important point regarding the "lesser of two evils" matter.
On a less dire note, in 2004 I faced an election where I could choose:
George W Bush (a man with whom I was bitterly disappointed, and whose inner circle quite frankly pissed me off, that Swift Boat defamation tactic being the cherry on top of the sundae)
John Kerry, whose record showed that he was utterly devoid of leadership talent at the level required, albeit we had in common Naval Service
I held my nose as I voted.
We don't always get a choice between the bad and the good.
More often, we get to choose whether or not our feces falafel comes with cheese and pickles, or with tomatoes, onions and lettuce. I daresay that is what the average folk of Syria confront at the moment. I am not sure there is a lot of
choice beyond "who keeps fighting longer" in this nasty civil war.
cockney steve: your post comes off as
a tale ... full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.
Further comments duly
