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Entry: Saying "No" to Tenured Fascists Link: http://www.takimag.com/blogs/article/saying_no_to_tenured_fascists#18108 Post contents: Dear Mr. Konkola, First of all, there's a radical difference between killing people and taking actions which seem, on balance, likely to save more lives in the long run. That's where the virtue of prudence comes in. Here's a hypothetical: Imagine that it were possible by using some imaginary technology to extend the lives of every single person on earth by 10 years. The only down side is: It would destroy all life in the oceans. By your logic, if I refused to take this action--thinking, rightly, that the next generation might well starve, or suffer greatly, because of the dead oceans, and that it would in addition be a hideous crime against God's creation--I would be guilty of mass murder. Likewise, if we could save some lives in India today by eliminating medical patents--at the cost of completely destroying the industries which develop such medicines--by your logic we'd have to do it. Italy did it. They don't invent medicines over here any more. Every day, we make decisions which privilege one good over another --including the extension of human life. That is NOT in ANY way the same as killing. If it were, then every dollar one of us sent to the symphony orchestra, instead of to hunger relief, would amount to an act of murder. Being pro-life does not mean embracing mindless vitalism, which favors--say, selling off all the artworks in the Vatican, to help pay for keeping people on respirators longer. It means that you oppose the direct killing of the innocent. Period. Sent at: 2008 07 24