[MD] Sin Part 2

[Platt Holden]

 [Case]
> Government has a duty to be involved in economic activity, from the
> regulation of the stock market to influencing the money supply to
> establishing what economic activities are even legal to engage in.
> Neither political party in this country has suggested that this stop.
> They typically quarrel about specifics and degree but not over the
> principle itself.

[Platt]
I don't know on what moral basis you believe "government has a duty to 
be involved in economic activity." Is that in the MOQ?

> I thought the lack of government restriction on stock speculation and
> buying in the margins was the major cause of the depression but that was
> before my time.

[Platt]
A part cause. Government interference in the economy were also
causes including the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act and actions of the Federal
Reserve Board.

> [Platt]
> I see an ungrateful world for all that we've have done for them.
> 
> [Case]
> Why if we are so wonderful and benevolent would they be so ungrateful?

[Platt]
Because beneficiaries of good works are very cognizant of their 
inferior position to their benefactor. They are both resentful and 
envious. No one likes to be patronized. That's why affirmative action 
and diversity programs have a negative effect.  

> [Case]
> The military is built into our system but we have always been rightly
> distrustful of its use.
> 
> [Platt]
> Me, fearful? Of what? Second-hand smoke? Global warming?
> U.S. debt? Poverty in our midst? Running out of natural resources?
> Seems to me you leftists are the ones who are fearful. As for government
> policies, what policies do you have in mind?
> 
> [Case]
> Point well taken we are both fearful. I am fearful of our lack of
> stewardship for the environment and our waste on non-renewal resources.
> I am fearful of the widening gap between our richest and poorest
> citizens. I am sure I could point to specific government policies that
> make me feel threatened in these respects.
> 
> But you seem to fear hostile foreign barbarians and evildoers. I am
> asking if you think our government is innocent of culpability in
> generating this hostility.

[Platt]
I don't excuse 9/11 on the grounds we deserved it if that's what you 
mean.

> [Platt]
> Yeah, I know. You leftists saw no threat in allowing the butcher of
> Baghdad to get atomic bombs and see no danger from Iran or radical
> Islam. After all, their vow to wipe Israel off the map and kill all
> infidels can't be serious.
> 
> [Case]
> I actually supported the invasion of Iraq for the same reason many
> others did. I was stupid enough to believe the Bush administration. I am
> rather Pollyanna in that respect. I actually do have faith in our system
> and I believe that our elected officials are generally honest in the
> pursuit of their duties. 

[Platt]
Stupid enough to believe all the world's intelligence agencies who, 
without exception, said Saddam had WMD's and was working to acquire
atomic weapons? Just a week or so ago it was revealed by captured Iraq 
papers that Saddan was within a year of getting an atomic bomb. 

> [Platt]
> I suggest you read Lila to discover the "central issue of morality."
> 
> [Case]
> Don't bother with extended quotes please but what chapter do you have in
> mind I would like to take a closer look.

[Platt]
As I interpret Pirsig, the central issue of morality is that the whole 
world from the farthest galaxy to the lowliest microbe is a moral 
structure. "The physical order of the universe is also the moral order 
of the universe." (Lila, 30) The laws discovered by science, such as 
the laws of motion, are moral laws.

> [Platt]
> Common decency means you fight to defend liberty but otherwise mind your
> own business. That's what it means to be an American.
> 
> [Case]
> I went on at length about God's answer to Job. I'll spare you the
> details but remind you of Cain's answer to God: "Am I my brother's
> keeper?" to which God might have answered, "Not any more."
> 
> It is curious, don't you think, that what you scoff at, I think are the
> very best things about our country; while what inspires you makes me
> want to rend my garments in grief and rage.
> 
> Maybe it is the fact of that paradox that makes us both proud to be
> Americans.

[Platt]
Yes, I agree. We can have diametrically opposed beliefs without fear 
that either of us will decapitate or blow up the other. It does speak, 
however, to the failure of the MOQ -- or our failure -- to elucidate or 
comprehend a common moral compass. Perhaps someone wiser than me
can explain why that is so. If you have some thoughts on that subject,
I look forward to hearing them.

Regards,
Platt