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| Subject: Well... | |
Author: Ed Harris (Back in Shropshire) | [ Next Thread |
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] Date Posted: 12:41:43 11/09/04 Tue In reply to: Trixta (UK) 's message, "Rumsfeldian English" on 22:48:45 11/08/04 Mon Good lord, I actually agree with much of that. I think I need to lie down. Perhaps I'm becoming a leftie in my old age. I would, however, take issue with a few points. Firstly, in the 20s and 30s, the Americans were against imperialism because they were secretly in favour of it. That is to say, they wanted the Royal Navy to disarm, in order to increase the RELATIVE strength of the US Navy without going to the expense of having to build a navy to rival Britain's. Very cunning, but our statesmen called their bluff and they didn't bother to translate their wealth into power until about 1941 - giving Britain a lease of 20 extra years on the Top Spot which our economic decline did not warrant. Still, bit of goose for us, what? And, secondly, you seem to be saying that the very concept of having one's own particular 'interests' is per se somehow morally reprihensible. I don't know about that. My 'interests' could be, e.g., the massacring of the old woman who lives in the flat downstairs because, frankly, without her complaining about me coming in late at night every time I pass her door, my life would be a lot easier. Until you have been berated in high-pitched Venetian-Italian by a senile religious fanatic whilst staggering towards lectures with a hang-over (on a boat), it is difficult to appreciate how ghastly it can be. But if I were to act on this interest it would be morally reprihensible. On the other hand, it could also be my interest, e.g., to prevent her from walloping me over the head with her old umbrella (which I suspect of being made of cast iron and whale-bone) whilst muttering things about St Mary the Virgin at me, by some peaceful means, as it might be placating the poisonous old boot by removing my shoes as I come in or, more strongly, by the confiscation of her brolley. That, I think you would agree, constitutes a legitimate interest. The difference is the means, not the ends, so why do you hate the idea of a personal 'interest' which is in competition with that of someone else? It is a fact of life, surely? [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] |
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Author: Trixta (UK) [ Edit | View ] |
Date Posted: 02:17:18 11/10/04 Wed Ahem, the response (Interest versus self-defence) above your point was meant for you. Sorry about that. [ Post a Reply to This Message ] |