Sunday, December 31, 2006




Don't walk behind me, I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend. - Albert Camus

The past 24 have had a lot of contemplation about right and wrong. Watching the sheer joy of the jabbering heads discussing the pictures of Saddam's neck snapping as captured by a cell phone camera have led me to think about what is right and wrong anymore, when it comes to government policy.

It used to be, the best government policy was the one that helped the most people. Now it would appear that the best government policy is the one that causes the least number of deaths.

As governments increasingly take on the role of vindicator, it is up to us, to try and preserve, in our own worlds any sense of morality.

Government as Superhero. What a thought. It's a flawed hero though. Unlike the idealized world of Superman and spider man though, this is a hero who bumbles, and stumbles his way, and hurts more innocent people than criminals. One of the reasons a judicial system outlaws vigilantism is because there is the likelihood of mistake. A mistake which cannot be repaired.

The body count rises on an hourly basis in the "war on terror" a war which will continue throughout my lifetime, and probably into the lifetime of my children. Years ago, someone said, this is a war that cannot be won, because it's a war on a tactic, not a war on an enemy. For every death, a new generation of soldiers is born. It would appear we have entered a state of perpetual conflict.

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