Platt,
Marco
> > Anyway Platt, as I wrote once, here in Italy even the atheists are catholic.
> > When we say that we put human life above everything we are probably meaning
> > something a guy called Jesus used to say many years ago. I'm not very
religious,
> > but I've always read in the MOQ a metaphysical explanation that human life,
that
> > is source of intellect, is above everything.
Platt
> No, not when a free society is threatened. Reread Chap. 13 of Lila for
> occasions when war (the sacrifice of human life) is justified. Also note
> the following quote from Chap. 3:
>
> "Of all the contributions America has made to the history of the world,
> the idea of freedom from a social hierarchy has been the greatest. It
> was fought for in the American Revolution and confirmed in the Civil
> War."
>
> Let us not forget that many Americans and Italians gave their lives for
> freedom that the MOQ calls the "highest good."
Of course. You are pretty right. "A free society". But when we say that life is
above everything, I think we are just evaluating those sacrifices as the biggest
thing. While IMO it is wrong to give your own life for a social purpose (i.e.
the honor of the family), it is the biggest thing to give your life in order to
save the future right for other human beings to be "source of thoughts". That's
why, even if I respect the pain of the relatives of both the young fascists and
the young anti-fascist dead in the Italian civil war (during the WW II ), I
evaluate their sacrifice diversely. Many of those fascists boys were just boys,
of course. That has been the biggest blame: to convince so many young minds that
it was right to sacrifice their life for the health of a dictatorship.
> Why many Europeans do not hold freedom above security is a mystery,
> especially after suffering for so many centuries under totalitarian
> regimes of religious zealots, corrupt kings and ruthless dictators.
Maybe 'cause NOW we are not "under totalitarian regimes of religious zealots,
corrupt kings and ruthless dictators"! And 'cause we don't feel security as the
opposite of freedom. Anyway, if you reread my 13 June post on this thread, I
agree that we just have to be a little more watchful about our governments.
> But, I digress. As a humanitarian, what have you done (voluntarily) to
> alleviate the suffering of the Nigerians? Or even the Serbs next door?
Italy has cancelled the great part of the third world countries foreign debt.
Italy has been the basis for all the air force missions to the Balkans, and, as
I'm not able to be happy for that, I just hope it's the last time. Italy has
always been the most *pro-union* country in Europe, and I'm convinced that the
European Union will help to solve definitely the millenarian conflicts between
Germans and French, Italians and Greeks, Austrians and Italians.. for our stupid
borderlines. We have suffered terrorism and mafia, but no criminal has been
executed, and I'm proud. Italy is one of the front line countries in the fight
for the abolition of capital punishment.
Of course, we also have our guilt. Especially fascism, that's clear. And, more
lately, corruption. But in the last 50 years we have done good things. Could be
it's not enough, hope we will be able to get better, with the help of everyone.
So, what do I do? On the public level, I pay taxes. And claim a fair government.
On a personal level, it's my own business.
Ciao
Marco
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