From: Noah Horton (nhorton@ectropic.org)
Date: Tue Mar 18 2003 - 10:16:35 MST
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-extropians@extropy.org [mailto:owner-extropians@extropy.org]
> On Behalf Of Mike Lorrey
> Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2003 8:46 AM
> To: extropians@extropy.org
> Subject: Re: WAR and Extropianism (was:My Blind Spot)
> --- Artillo5@cs.com wrote:
> > It's amazing how much this list has degraded with regards to
> > discussions about Iraq.
>
> Yes, it is amazing after a year and a half of discussions, and many
> claims by pacifist about 'war crimes', it is so easily demonstrated
> that not a single pacifist on this list has ever bothered to ever read
> any of the Laws of War, from the Geneva Conventions or those prior.
> Those that claim to have done so have demonstrated that they did not
> and do not comprehend them one whit.
>
> With such resounding ignorance, the degradation of posts on this list
> cannot be helped.
[Noah Horton]
Thank you for coming out and saying this. I would extend this further to
include all of the "this is the first..." or "this is the biggest public
outcry..." statements that come up show a lack of knowledge of history.
While you are reading up on some basic documents of international law like
the Geneva Convention, try a few history books as well.
> >
> > ====================================================
> > My question for my fellow Extropians is this:
> >
> > Is war for any reason something an Extropian should be espousing????
> > ====================================================
>
> War is a valid instrument of foreign policy, and especially necessary
> when *some* parties to diplomacy act duplicitously and with
> intransigence (i.e. France and Iraq). Such behavior makes war inevitable.
[Noah Horton]
Absolutely! If you walked into your house and found a man raping your wife,
would you stand there asking him to stop repeatedly? The belief that all
issues can be resolved peacefully with all parties is a view that can be
born only in situations of great luxury and isolation. Edmund Burke (I
think) said that all that was necessary for evil men to triumph was for good
men to do nothing. I would take that thought further as to apply it to the
present. All that is necessary for evil men to triumph is for good men to
refuse to recognize evil.
-Noah Horton
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