This post originated from an RSS feed registered with Java Buzz by Michael Cote. Original Post: He Who is Right Takes No Prisoners Feed Title: Cote's Weblog: Coding, Austin, etc. Feed URL: https://cote.io/feed/ Feed Description: Using Java to get to the ideal state. Latest Java Buzz Posts Latest Java Buzz Posts by Michael Cote Latest Posts From Cote's Weblog: Coding, Austin, etc.

I'm always curious to read/hear reasoned explanations of what I consider unreasonable thinking. Must be all that whacky philosophy I studied. Here's one such line of thinking, for at least one such person:

"I realized the main thing that separated us evangelicals from them was that they believed in dialogue and compromise. And we believed in taking no prisoners. . . . Democracy can't function in an environment where one party will not sit down and play by the rules."

He uses a saying of the apostle Paul, beloved of evangelicals, to drive home the point: "Be all things to all people." A missionary, he says, might interpret that to mean that it's OK to swear on a visa application that she's not a missionary: "Technically, it's illegal and you're lying. But if you honestly believe that you're going to save somebody from eternal torture and damnation, and deliver them into a life of eternal bliss, then you're going to do what you have to do." So, he thinks, might people who claim to be "registering" voters?for such means-justifies-the-ends thinking now also marks evangelicals' political attitudes.

"Whenever you think that there are eternal, apocalyptic stakes, and that you can make a difference, you can rationalize a whole lot of stuff to yourself," he says. "I think evangelicals really don't like democracy much at all, especially when it's not going their way."

On the flip side, we got that peanut farmer who won some kind of award and is famous for something in the 70's:

I don't think it's ever been proven to be accurate as a premise that you can go into an alien society, win with force of arms, destroying a major portion of that country and killing their people to make them adopt a new form of government and to accept new rulers.

I'm sure one of you sharp knives out there can bust out with some Ancient Roman, Greek, Chinese, Mongolian, Power-of-Old shit to spread all over that assertion if you were feeling feisty. You know the Guals, Persians, and all those other kooky-old worlders loved it when the short-sword wielding red dudes, or the eye-pluckers, came running through their lands.

"Yay, the Legions! Get the flower pedals ready! Hail Caesar!"

(On the other hand, some hold that blowing up a country real good is a fine start.)