Moral Outrage

[I originally posted this as a comment in the Framing vs Fencing diary by Hudson at Daily Kos on March 10th. 21 people gave it a 4.]

Hudson, you're instincts and intuition are spot on. While the lefties play catch up, the wingnuts are barreling along at break neck speed to put their facsist program in place before the people realize what's been done to them, as in Nazi Germany.

So while everyone is hand wringing about making sure we don't stoop to their level, they continue to act on their agenda by passing the indentured servitude legislation, aka the bankruptcy bill.

Sorry, I'm straying. Point. A sword is a weapon. It can be used for good or ill depending on the intent of the wielder.

I happen to believe in the basic goodness of most people. I also trust most people to want to be or do good when given the opportunity. However, the sword can and should be used to take down an attacker in self-defense.

I am a Confucian, a Buddhist, a Japanese-American, and I follow the Bushido. If you know anything about the samurai, they live to protect their country and their emperor, but they follow the code of compassion, honor, faithfulness, sincerity, loyalty, etc. I also happened to understand Bruce Lee's philosophy, rooted as it is in understanding the nature of the Dao, as well as the Buddhist purpose of clarifying perception and not being stuck on any particular view which leaves one free to use them all, especially in a street fight.

Sorry this is so oblique. Point. To win, one must have the killer instinct, not to commit murder, but to seek life for oneself and protect the lives of others. In other words, one can kill the enemy and still be ethical.

But as Dumbledore says to Voldemort, there are other ways to destroy a man than to kill him, even for someone as evil as Voldemort. It's just a matter knowing how.

I for one will pull no punches, but as you and others have pointed out, it will always be based on the truth. Calling a liar a liar is not wrong or unethical. It is accurate and necessary because people's lives are at stake.

For me, this fight is life and death, and I don't intend to take any prisoners. But like a king who shows mercy to the vanquished, I have nothing but compassion for those who know not what they do.

As Confucius says: repay kindness with kindnes, repay evil with justice. Justice is not vengeance, it is not an eye for an eye. Justice is the restoration of moral balance by way of atonement and restitution.