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10w

When Obama beat Romney, someone asked Harry Reid about his hilariously transparent lies about Romney's taxes on the Senate floor. Reid did not address the question as an honest man does. He replied, "It worked, didn't it?"

Lying works. It is powerful. This is a war. Not a Saturday afternoon Republic serial. We need all the weapons we can get.

Once my heritage is secured, by blood or alse, then I will worry about whether I can sleep at night after lying about the people who want me genocided.

(I won't, most likely.)

weknowwhygary

@weknowwhygary@nicecrew.digital remote

10w

The reason someone like that needs to be destroyed is because he is a liar. How you win, how you fight, etc, vs why you should fight, why you should win, why the other side should lose.

If you do the exact same thing the other side does, the side that should lose, then you just joined the side that should lose.

Subterfuge in war and lying are not always the same thing. You trick your enemies, but you don't lie to your neighbors. One okay, one bad.

Not that him being on one side of the equation means that the other side, romney, was good. It was two bads in a fight.

James_Dixon

@James_Dixon@poa.st remote

10w

@weknowwhygary @s2208 @WandererUber > If you do the exact same thing the other side does, the side that should lose, then you just joined the side that should lose.

Tactics are not goals. They are methods to achieve your goals. Someone has never watched the original Star Trek episode "The Savage Curtain".

"ROCK: You are the survivors. The others have run off. It would seem that evil retreats when forcibly confronted. However, you have failed to demonstrate to me any other difference between your philosophies. Your good and your evil use the same methods, achieve the same results. Do you have an explanation?
KIRK: You established the methods and the goals.
ROCK: For you to use as you chose.
KIRK: What did you offer the others if they won?
ROCK: What they wanted most. Power.
KIRK: You offered me the lives of my crew."

weknowwhygary

@weknowwhygary@nicecrew.digital remote

10w

I could have worded it a little mo' better. As written, it's not correct.

You don't become the same as the enemy by doing what he does, that's bad logic. I didn't mean it that way.

I meant, you don't jettison your morality to win if the reason you should win is because you have that correct morality and your enemy doesn't. That's self defeating.

James_Dixon

@James_Dixon@poa.st remote

10w

@weknowwhygary @s2208 @WandererUber > I meant, you don't jettison your morality to win if the reason you should win is because you have that correct morality and your enemy doesn't.

But as I said, tactics are not morals. Morals are why you seek to do a thing, tactics are how you do it. When it comes to war, any and all tactics that advance your goals are allowable.

And yes, this is a war.

weknowwhygary

@weknowwhygary@nicecrew.digital remote

10w

Deceiving the enemy in battle and war is perfectly normal. Raiding the enemy's baggage train and taking his food is normal for a war. These things would be sins if committed against a neighbor under peace time, but are acceptable against an enemy during war. This wasn't really where the debate was.

The discussion was whether or not we should lie to our own people about why they should take our side against a common enemy.

Replying to @weknowwhygary@nicecrew.digital

James_Dixon

@James_Dixon@poa.st remote

10w

@weknowwhygary @s2208 @WandererUber > The discussion was whether or not we should lie to our own people about why they should take our side against a common enemy.

I'm not at all sure that's what the discussion was. It may be what you think it was.

But the answer to that question lies in the answer to the question "Is it necessary to defeat an enemy that would otherwise kill those people?"

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