The criterion of life

Submitted by Motty (Canada), Dec 31, 2002 at 01:26

Hi, Daniel:

It is hard to follow all instances where the Muslims use democracy's rights and generosity for the purpose of destroying democracy and rights.

In your story http://www.danielpipes.org/article/982 you pointed to one. Thank you.

Today I compiled and distributed to my list the following, under a subject "The criterion of life". You may like it.

Saddam, Arafat, Militant Muslim states, North Korea, – they all may be crazy, but stupid they are not. They have their definite agenda of wielding power over as wide a population as possible, a population that includes their own citizens, as well as those foreign populations, which dare to question their beliefs and power – especially when those foreign populations are successful while holding on to their ideas.

Democracies are ill prepared to fight coercion and blackmail. Thugs use democracy's freedoms to kill democracy and freedoms. Thugs cause democracy to become confused, because democracy thinks that both right and wrong must be considered equally innocent until proven guilty in courts. That view is the democracy's undoing.

To sort out right from wrong – before the wrong kills the right – a democracy ought to use the criterion of life.

Does Saddam respect life? Do Palestinians respect life? Does North Korean government respect life of it citizens? Does Militant Islam respect life, their own or others'?
As the obvious answer is NO, these entities are wrong.

Does America respect life? Does Israel respect life, theirs or others'?
As the obvious answer is YES, these entities are right.

America and Israel may choose not to interfere with Saddam's, North Korean and Muslim states and authorities murdering their own population. America and Israel do not have to take on the role of other countries' policemen.

However, when these entities threaten to destroy and kill American and Israeli citizens, it is the respective governments' obligation to preempt and strike.

The populations living under wrong regimes are these regimes' wards – not American or Israeli's regimes' wards. If and when these unfortunate populations express an inkling for freedom, America and Israel should help them to get rid of their repressive governments. However, as long as such and inkling is not apparent, these populations have no choice but suffer the consequences the actions of their governments cause. The responsibility for suffering among these populations lies entirely on the shoulders of their respective rulers.

On the other hand, the responsibility for the safety of America's and of Israeli populations lies entirely on the shoulders of their respective governments. These governments have no right to compromise neither life nor safety of their citizens due to considerations for the life and safety of citizens living under murderous rulers.

Until American and Israeli governments do not internalize this simple truth, threats to democracy from all kinds of dark corners will multiply and strengthen, until democracies – however now strong and flourishing – will be knocked down to their knees, before the murderous states fall apart eventually due to their inability to produce and feed their populations.

It is in the name of life of Earth, that democracies ought to preempt and destroy murderous regimes without regard to life and safety of their populations. The surviving citizens of those defeated countries will be grateful for the destruction of their murderous rulers, however the cost.

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