On torture

Yesterday I read a very interesting essay on a topic some don't want anything to do with. Torture. Some people will say "absolutely not," or "under no circumstances," but for Michael Levins, that is not the case. He realizes some of the situations that we as a country could be put in, and under some circumstances, understands methods to help get America out of them; torture.

Levins made some very compelling points such as if a terrorist said he had a bomb hidden that could kill thousands of people, would it not be logical to get the answer from him by any means possible? Torture is a good way to do this. Some people would disagree saying torture is "off limits," or "unethical," but is the price of possibly thousands of people not worth the torture of one person who, knowing the daring consequences, still planted a bomb somewhere? In situations such as that, I agree with Michael Levins in that torture is necessary. Some people may still disagree with torture in those situations because they are "unethical," but you must ask the questions, "Where would America be today if it had only done what is 'ethical'? What would have become of World War II?"

Levins made an interesting comment in his essay in that Roosevelt had the opportunity to assassinate Hitler during his reign but refused by moral grounds. To me, that is kind of upsetting to know that Hitler was allowing to go on with his doings while America just sat there. While this blog and Levins's essay are primarily opinions, I hope they have made you think about how America deals with these situations.

My personal philosophy

Most people find themselves later in their lives living by a personal philosophy or motto. I would not yet say that I have found that a personal philosophy to live by. As only a 17 year old kid still in high school, I haven't really had any life-changing moments yet or time to think about a phrase to live by. Later in my life, I am sure I will develop some other philosophies, but for now, I have found one that I think everyone should abide by.

The Golden rule. It is a philosophy that most people have heard of; whether it was as a young kid like me or just finding out by this blog. In its purest form, it is "treat others as you would like to be treated." I feel that if everybody tried to live by that rule, the world would be a much better place. I understand that people's philosophies don't always enter their minds before they make decisions but if people followed the Golden rule, people would get along much better. Almost all people, whether they say it or not, want to be treated nicely, fairly, and with respect.

Once again, I do not live by a philosophy as far as I am concerned. However, I will try as think of the Golden rule before making some of my decisions. If I wouldn't want to be put in a certain position, I should avoid putting others in the same position. If everybody had the same idea, the world would be a much better place.

The burning of the Quran

Many of you have already heard about the worldwide controversy over the announcement to burn the Islamic book of faith, the Quran. The rumor has been stirring up trouble all over the world. Muslims have been upset with the decision and have gone to numerous measures to cease the burning event. The event was initially brought up by a small church pastor, Terry Jones.

Barack Obama decided to take matters into his own hands when he saw the trouble brewing in the Islamic regions. The president received numerous suggestions to urge the pastor to put an end to the burning. I can definitely see the pressure the president was under to take action and speak to the leader of the anti-muslim church. After speaking to the president of the Islamic Society, Jones finally agreed to cancel the burning ceremony after he was supposedly told the Ground Zero mosque is to be moved. It appears the result has given a big sigh of relief to government officials and religious leaders around the globe.

I think it was a very bold move to even announce such a event to such an audience as the world. I believe it's a very good thing that Jones and the Muslim community, with the help of Barack Obama, were able to come to a settlement. In response to just the announcement of the burning of the Quran, certain muslims have have burned American flags and chanted "Death to the Christians." Obama also said it, the resolution of this issue will probably have kept our U.S. soldiers safer and keep from starting up any kind of unnecessary stirring of world peace. My and probably the majority of the world's hope is that this matter has been put to bed.

Achieving good ends by inappropriate means?

It's an interesting topic when someone brings it up out of the blue. If by bad or inappropriate means, we are trying to achieve good ends, our intentions will arrive at the same bad ends. That was one of the topics of discussion in the first few days of our college prep english class. It certainly had me surprised first few days of a class I expected nothing out of except reading and writing. Despite only a couple comments spoken throughout class, I too have an opinion on this topic which I intend to share.

Huxley wrote "And so long as we go on trying to realize our ideals by bad or merely inappropriate means, our good intentions will come to the same bad ends." That is a very fascinating quote to let your mind ponder. After I let mine, I came to realize that more often than not, I believe that quote is true. I know movies are fake, but the stories have the potential to be very real and you often see someone unrightfully make their way to the top only to see it all come crashing down. Ghandi also mentioned that the means are the end in its preliminary stages. I understand that with good ends in mind, it won't be a realistic route to take by only using good means all the time, and that is the smaller percentage that I think happens disregarding Huxley's statement.

Huxley method of thinking was probably different than most other people's, including mine. Before the start of this class, I hadn't really done a whole lot of critical thinking such that I have already done thus far this year. Huxley has a unique way of viewing these sensitive topics that most people like to avoid thinking about. Whether or not I agree with him on other views or topics isn't up for discussion, but I do believe he has this one right.