Re:Ted Kennedy has died
by protomyth on Wednesday August 26, 2009 @12:40PM
(#787513)
I have always believed "the end justifies the means" to be a statement of evil, and I guess I see "I see no harm in looking at a man's accomplishments and ignoring his failures" to be uncomfortably close.
The problem I see with that attitude is that it opens up a whole lot of people (who are broadly agreed to be better off unborn) to lionization. Maybe Kennedy did help a lot of people, but maybe someone else would have done more in his position. At the moment that tested his personal beliefs, that required action rather then crafted words, he failed and someone died.
When powerful people can get away with acts that would damn the normal people, I see precious little hope that government will be about what would actually help the people.
The problem I see with that attitude is that it opens up a whole lot of people (who are broadly agreed to be better off unborn) to lionization. Maybe Kennedy did help a lot of people, but maybe someone else would have done more in his position. At the moment that tested his personal beliefs, that required action rather then crafted words, he failed and someone died.
When powerful people can get away with acts that would damn the normal people, I see precious little hope that government will be about what would actually help the people.