12-31-2007, 06:08 AM
Quote:Yeah, I'm not sure how I did it. She *HATES* horror movies, and any movie with excess or unnecessary blood for that matter, but she loves Star Trek (TNG only - hates the movies) and Star Wars. Too bad she loathes Diablo.... you have absolutely no idea how much.
As they say, you can't win them all...:)
Quote:Regarding your reply, I'll bite: I use your and Jester's analogy of a peaceful galaxy before the Emperor took over to the America's (North and South, that is) and how the Indians survived just fine without the Spaniard and English conquerers of what is now North and South America. Truly, have you ever read the real history books on Columbus? He was a true villain which paved the was for the final showdown at Wounded Knee which all but completely eradicated the native Indians, however he is idolized as a Hero in our day and era, why? Because he helped unite this great nation in which we now live. I fail too see a difference between your analogy and mine except, of course, for our points of view.
You are right, It really just depends on your point of view. The sticking point is whether or not you believe in this situation the ends justify the means. The argument for Columbus being a hero (hellish brutality and all) teeters on the belief that this great country 500 years later justifies the horrendous actions that started the ball rolling.
So would the brutal actions of the emperor justify the (projected) ends? Of course you aren't wrong about the ends, there are some silver linings to be pulled from his actions (the protection provided by unification of power, etc).
From a technical standpoint, you have to add into the mix the classic quote "no one sets out to do evil, everyone follows what they believe is best". Throw in a few sleepless nights and 20 pages later, you'll boil it down to a number of smaller questions, a decent grade and a philosophy degree.
But since my philosophy degree is in hand and my college days over, I'm going to concede that it boils down to a number of simple axioms (perhaps the biggest of which I've mentioned, do ends justify the means). If I take one stance on it, and you the other, its a rather moot argument. Of course you could start arguing the nitty gritty of the validity of each others axioms, based on one system vs. another, but that won't get us much closer at the end of the day.
So at the end of the day in the real world, I rely on my gut. And if I honestly look at the emperor and call a spade a spade, he's an evil man with some bad motivations for galactic domination. And although I may see the silver linings to your arguments, it's still a spade to me. Of course, it goes both ways - you may see it entirely different.
Cheers,
Munk
PS. Maybe when I have some more time from work I'll get down to the nitty gritty and argue some specifics for fun. It would be nice to use that piece of paper they handed me at graduation to some use;)