[MD] Down the road of mediocrity

[ARLO J BENSINGER JR]

[Platt had claimed]
Some people are better than others. (Actually, he had asked if I thought some
people were better than others, and then argued a bit how Galileos are more
moral than criminals.)

[Arlo then asked]
Name someone who is "more moral" than you are. Do you think that makes their
intrinsic value as a human being  "better" than yours?

[Platt]
A soldier defending this country from terrorists.  Yes.

[Arlo]
Aside from wondering why soldiers are paid so little, comparatively, if they are
intrinsically "better" than everyone else, would you say that that soldier is a
better person than your local firefighter? Does this bely the fact that those
who sacrifice for the greater good are better people?.... Methinks it does!

[Arlo had also asked]
Is Galileo more moral than Sam Walton? Is James Gleick a better person than Sam
Walton?

[Platt]
No. No.

[Arlo]
Then how do we tell who is better than another? Or is this only in broad
categories like "those fighting for intellectual freedom from social repression
are 'better' than those fighting for (threatening) biological freedom from
social repression"?

[Platt]
Read what Pirsig says about brigands and Indians who dash babies' brains out.

[Arlo]
I feel like I'm in a free-form prose contest. I have no idea what you mean here.
Are you suggesting that Europeans were better people than the Indians? 

[Platt]
Nowhere in the MOQ do I see the justification for forcing Peter to pay for
Paul's illness. If you think it does, please provide the supporting quotes.

[Arlo]
Well, as I said, if its moral for society to provide food and heath for its
incarcerated, I'd think its straightforward to say its moral for society to
provide food and health for its poor. I recall a story once my granddad used to
tell me about the "bums" that would come through the area at the beginning of
winter, toss a brick through a storefront window, and wait to be arrested.
They'd spend six months in jail, in other words receive free lodging and meals.
The cost of incarceration was (is) much higher. Should we just suppose our poor
will be become criminals first, and then we'll take care of them?