This is not a rhetorical question. I do want an answer.
"Our opponent ... is someone who sees America, it seems, as being so imperfect, imperfect enough, that he's palling around with terrorists who would target their own country." She also said, "This is not a man who sees America as you see America and as I see America."
Does she mean that whether one pals around with terrorists or not is a function of how imperfect one sees the country? So that if she were to see the country as less perfect than she now sees it, she would then be justified in palling around with terrorists.Also notice the use of the present tense in this sentence. It's just false that Obama now pals around with Ayers, and it is also now false to say that he intends to target his own country. The most that can be said here is that he once targeted his own country and doesn't now regret doing so.
Let's assume that Obama is open to criticism because of his association with Ayers. Does anything follow from that about his view of America?
Is it always morally wrong to befriend former terrorists, even unrepentant ones? Would Jesus befriend terrorists, or just tax collectors and sinners? (You guys are going to stone me for asking this question).
6 comments:
I don't claim to know anything much about US politics or about the Obama/Ayers relationship, but ...
Just about relevant to this is Chesterton's maxim that the only person who can change anything (such as a country) for the better is someone who both loves the thing and and hates it at the same time.
If they don't "hate" it, then there's nothing which needs to be changed, if they don't love it, then why bother changing it as opposed to destroying it or deserting it or just giving up on it.
Sounds to me like Obama is being criticised for meeting one of the essential pre-requisites for a reformer: think there is something which needs to change. That's a long way from being allied to terrorists and/or terrorism. It's just good sense.
Steve
Victor,
Have you been following Kramnik-Anand?
Getting back on topic, did you hear the latest? McCain has been accepting endorsements from the financial benefactors of Ayers.
McCain has been accepting endorsements from the financial benefactors of Ayers.
Omg. McCain is financially supported by terrorists, which, by the transitivity of the 'paling around with' relation in the McCainian system of logic, means he is paling around with terrorists. And since Palin is paling around with John McCain who pals around with terrorists, this also means Palin has been paling around with terrorists!
We cannot vote these America-haters and terrorist pal-around-withers into the white house!
McCain's middle name is also Sydney. Is it just a coincidence that a man from Sydney, Austrilia was suspected as terrorism not too long ago? I think not.
We cannot vote for John Sydney McCain!
He's not one of us!
Nomccain!
I thought that Jesus made kind of a big deal out of repentance. So I'm not that convinced he would have befriended someone like Ayers.
On the other hand, I'm pretty sure that Peter would call Ayers "just a guy in my neighborhood" at some point.
You mean at about the time the cock crowed?
Jesus would befriend a terrorist, but not an unrepentant one. That's simple enough.
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