David wasn't sure what he was looking at. The shape was unique, bursting, showing a muted lifestyle. He thought it was on par with most contemporary art, really. An amorphous blob, surely with much deeper meaning.
The woman shot him a glare.
She had seen him staring. "May as well go for broke," David said under his breath.
He walked over to her table. "excuse me ma'am, are you free later? I think you could be the highlight of my art gallery opening soon. It's my first solo gallery. It's called, Follies of Excess. You'd be a perfect fit, for once."
He didn't even wait for her to reply. The bell clanged as he opened the door and he was on his way.
"You really are too old for that," said a voice behind him.
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Friday, September 27, 2013
The Morality of Torture
This is mostly just stream of consciousness thought after one of my classes. We were talking about whether or not it is ever okay to torture. Most people were taking the utilitarian side where the consequences of the action far outweigh the costs, in certain cases. This bothers me a lot.
In the U.S., torture is a worse punishment than death. how can a country not believe in cruel and unusual punishment but believe in the death penalty? Does it follow that we can kill for information, but not torture?
Is torture worse than death? Is torture acceptable in circumstances when it prevents death? In consequentialism, there could be debate on whether the torture of one person to save a second is justified. But 1000? One million? Is there a number of lives saved where torture becomes not only justifiable, but morally good. Does it ever become something that ought to be done?
In the U.S., torture is a worse punishment than death. how can a country not believe in cruel and unusual punishment but believe in the death penalty? Does it follow that we can kill for information, but not torture?
Is torture worse than death? Is torture acceptable in circumstances when it prevents death? In consequentialism, there could be debate on whether the torture of one person to save a second is justified. But 1000? One million? Is there a number of lives saved where torture becomes not only justifiable, but morally good. Does it ever become something that ought to be done?
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Choosing Humanity
On September 17, 2001, President George W. Bush gave a speech at the Islamic Center of Washington, DC. In this speech so soon after a tragedy, he said, “The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam. That’s not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace. These terrorists don’t represent peace, they represent evil and war.”
Twelve years later, this is still something that many Americans forget. Islam is not the problem. Just because someone looks like someone who is bad, or shares a religion with someone who is bad, does not mean that they are a bad person. We must respect people as people. Someone is not lesser because they call their God by the name of Allah. This is a country that does not believe in discrimination, yet we still see mainstream arguments that people who look like Arabs or Muslims should be singled out.
Twelve years later, this is still something that many Americans forget. Islam is not the problem. Just because someone looks like someone who is bad, or shares a religion with someone who is bad, does not mean that they are a bad person. We must respect people as people. Someone is not lesser because they call their God by the name of Allah. This is a country that does not believe in discrimination, yet we still see mainstream arguments that people who look like Arabs or Muslims should be singled out.
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