anoncoward13212

That's not a rebuttal. Tempting as it may be, I will not go for the straw man argument about meat/weapons/LGBT issues.

Obviously I'll have to come to terms with the fact that "people in the world" have different priorities to mine regarding ethics; that doesn't change the fact that I believe certain things to be wrong and that (independently) I believe people should be held accountable for actions, even if just following orders (which was the original argument I was responding to).

Working for the NSA isn't a human rights issue, another reason that the gay marriage thing is a straw man. I'm not claiming someone shouldn't have the right to work for them, I'm just saying if they're instructed to do "wrong things" that those things are still "wrong" even if you're only doing them for your boss. (for whatever values of "wrong" -- hence your point about ethics being individual)

People working for dubious 3-letter agencies aren't absolved from responsibility or reflection; they are not supposed to be soulless drones. I disagree with you: I think we really can appeal to their moral sense to get up and say that what they're being asked to do goes against their ethics. Of course six-figure jobs and sweet maths problems are strong incentives to listen less closely to one's moral compass. Cognitive dissonance must be strong at the NSA offices.

It's splitting hairs. (and what I'm doing, only $deity knows)

Why the focus on polygraph testing? I thought they were considered debunked faux science since forever? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polygraph#Validity