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" ?
1 comment:
Hi Peter,
We tell everyone we can where the evil is and hopefully we can Fix the Evil some way some day.
Probably, people will be just as annoyed with my way to fix this. Man, it was so easy for Klaatu (he he he Mr. Carpenter) in the Day the Earth Stood Stil. I wish we had a race of Robots that could protect us, but also keep us in line from hurting others. We all need a little GORT in our lives to protect us from ourselves.
Here is Klaatu's speach from the Day the Earth Stood Still(Farewell to the Master)
I am leaving soon and you'll forgive me if I speak bluntly. The universe grows smaller every day and the threat of aggression by any group anywhere can no longer be tolerated. There must be security for all or no one is secure. Now this does not mean giving up any freedom, except the freedom to act irresponsibly. Your ancestors knew this when they made laws to govern themselves and hiredpolicemen to enforce them. We, of the other planets, have long accepted this principle. We have an organization for the mutual protection of all planets and for the complete elimination of aggression. The test of any such higher authority is, of course, the police force that supports it. For our policemen we created a race of robots. Their function is to patrol the planets in spaceships like this one and preserve the peace. In matters of aggression we have given them absolute power over us. This power cannot be revoked. A t the first signs of violence they act automatically against the aggressor. The penalty forprovoking their action is too terrible to risk. The result is we live in peace without arms or armies, secure in theknowledge that we are free from aggression and war, free to pursue more profitable enterprises. Now, we do not pretend to have achieved perfection, but we do have a system, and it works. I came here to give you these facts. It is no concern of ours how you run your own planet, but if you threaten to extend your violence, this Earth of yours will be reduced to a burned-out cinder. Your choice is simple: join us and live in peace, or pursue your present course and face obliteration. We shall be waiting for your answer. The decision rests with you.
Clydene
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