How do we deal with evil?

Here is a set of answers given by our presidential candidates on the following topic:

Topic : Pastor Rich Warren asked this question to both the candidates at the Saddleback Civil Forum: OKAY WE'VE GOT ONE LAST TIME -- I'VE GOT A BUNCH MORE ABOUT LET ME ASK YOU ONE IN EVIL. DOES EVIL EXIST AND IF IT DOES DO WE IGNORE IT, DO WE NEGOTIATE WITH IT, DO WE CONTAIN IT OR DO WE DEFEAT IT?

Here are their answers:

Obama: EVIL DOES EXIST. I MEAN, WE SEE EVIL ALL THE TIME. WE SEE EVIL IN DARFUR. WE SEE EVIL SADLY ON THE STREETS OF OUR CITIES. WE SEE EVIL IN PARENTS WHO HAVE VICIOUSLY ABUSED THEIR CHILDREN AND I THINK IT HAS TO BE CONFRONTED. IT HAS TO BE CONFRONTED SQUARELY AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I STRONGLY BELIEVE IS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE ARE NOT GOING TO, AS INDIVIDUALS, BE ABLE TO ERASE EVIL FROM THE WORLD. THAT IS GOD'S TASK. BUT WE CAN BE SOLDERS IN THAT PROCESS AND WE CAN CONFRONT IT WHEN WE SEE IT. NOW, THE ONE THINK THAT I THINK IS VERY IMPORTANT IS FOR US TO HAVE SOME HUMILITY IN HOW WE APPROACH THE ISSUE OF CON FRONTING EVIL, BUT YOU KNOW A LOT OF EVIL HAS BEEN PERPETRATED BASED ON THE CLAIM THAT WE WERE TRYING TO CONFRONT EVIL.

Q. IN THE NAME OF GOOD?

A. INTO THE NAME OF GOOD. AND I THINK ONE THING THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT IS HAVING SOME HUMILITY IN RECOGNIZING THAT, YOU KNOW, JUST BECAUSE WE THINK OUR INTENTIONS ARE GOOD DOESN'T ALWAYS MEAN THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE DOING GOOD.

McCain: DEFEAT IT. COUPLE POINTS, ONE, IF I'M PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, MY FRIENDS, IF I HAVE TO FOLLOW HIM TO THE GATES OF HELL, I WILL GET OSAMA BIN LADEN AND BRING HIM TO JUSTICE. I WILL DO THAT AND I KNOW HOW TO DO THAT. I WILL GET THAT DONE. NO ONE SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO TAKE THOUSANDS OF AMERICAN -- INNOCENT AMERICAN LIVES. OF COURSE EVIL MUST BE DEFEATED. MY FRIENDS, WE ARE FACING THE TRANSCENDENT CHALLENGE OF THE 21-CENTURY, RADICAL ISLAMIC EXTREMISTS. NOT LONG AGO IN BAGHDAD, AL-QAEDA TOOK TWO YOUNG WOMEN WHO WERE MENTALLY DISABLED AND PUT SUICIDE VESTS ON THEM, SENT THEM INTO A MARKETPLACE AND BY REMOTE CONTROL, DETINATED THOSE SUICIDE VESTS. IF THAT ISN'T EVIL, YOU HAVE TO TELL ME WHAT IS AND WE'RE GOING TO DEFEAT THIS EVIL AND THE CENTRAL BATTLE GROUND ACCORDING TO DAVID PETRAEUS AND OSAMA BIN LADEN IS THE BATTLES -- IS BAGHDAD, MOZIL AND IRAQ AND WE ARE WINNING AND WE ARE SUCCEEDING AND OUR TROOPS WILL COME HOME WITH HONOR AND VICTORY AND NOT IN DEFEAT AND THAT'S WHAT'S HAPPENING. WE HAVE -- AND WE FACE THIS THREAT THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. IT'S NOT JUST IN IRAQ. IT'S NOT JUST IN AFGHANISTAN. OUR INTELLIGENCE PEOPLE TELL US AL-QAEDA CONTINUES TO TRY TO ESTABLISH CELLS HERE IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. MY FRIENDS, WE MUST FACE THIS CHALLENGE. WE CAN FACE THIS CHALLENGE AND WE MUST TOTALLY DEFEAT IT AND WE'RE IN A LONG STRUGGLE, BUT WHEN I'M AROUND THE YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN WHO ARE SERVING THIS NATION IN UNIFORM, I HAVE NO DOUBT,NONE.

So my question to you is : which answer do you dig more? And why should we always think of evil as being something "external" or "foreign" ?

We think, therefore we are

Hi everyone,

I am about to start a YAB (yet another blog for uninitiated ;) )

This, my friends, is the season when the elections are upon us. Unless you have been living under a rock miles away from civilization, the parade of the multicolored parties and their cacophanies have probably left you brain-dead. And here's where I think this blog can bring in some welcome relief to help keep things in perspective.

Now, I am not going to rant and rave and indulge in vacuous partisan diatribes that have so sullied our political landscape. If you want to engage in such activities, I am sure you can find all too many blogs catering to your needs. Instead, I am more interested in initiating a discussion about American politics in general. I want to concentrate on the broader issues that are plaguing us, and the personalities of the leaders who can help shape the future for us.

It is high time that we start thinking about politics, because unless we do, we can get elect someone we will regret for a full 48 months. To put things in perspective, that is 16 financial quarters. Companies are restructured, and in some cases bankrupted, by mistakes made in a fraction of that time. So one would normally think that the person chosen to the highest office in this land will be properly understood in terms of their personality and their affiliations, right? Ideally yes. In practice, though, we decide based on gut instincts and a lot of propaganda that are incessantly handed down to us by the various media sources. So what can we do?

We have only one option. Keep asking, demand answers. There exists a wonderful law in this land which goes by the "Freedom of Information Act". We can use it to get the answers when they are deliberately hidden from us. We need to debate the various propaganda that these parties come up with, and make an informed decision on who is right and who is wrong.

Ultimately, truth has no color. What Descartes said in the 17th century still rings true : Cogito, ergo sum (I think, therefore I am).