I always thought “justice” meant that people should get what they deserve
October 29th, 2008
But when I hear people talk about “social justice, viagra sale sovaldi ” it always sounds to me like they just want people to get, clinic whether they deserve it or not.
Entry Filed under: Observations
5 Comments Add your own
1. Nick | October 29th, 2008 at 8:18 am
Which is why I find your rationale for thinking about voting for Obama to be rather strange.
Your justification seems to revolve around having to tell your children how you didn’t vote for a black man… which in essense means that you believe in equality of outcome, instead of equality of opportunity. The fact that he’s running as well as he is means that equality of opportunity has already happened, and so you don’t need to do anything.
2. capper | October 29th, 2008 at 9:09 am
And what if they want is what they deserve?
3. elliot | October 29th, 2008 at 9:53 am
Damn it, Cap, I knew you’d do that to me.
I really wanted to point out the difference between earned and unearned, but I just couldn’t resist the resonance of “just deserts” and “undeserving poor” (think My Fair Lady).
The problem with your point is that we all may “deserve” to be rich, but we don’t all earn it.
4. elliot | October 29th, 2008 at 9:55 am
I understand what you’re saying, Nick.
I admit that my desire to vote for the first black President is completely irrational.
It’s an emotional choice, not a reasonable one.
In the end, I’ll probably pull the lever (or draw the marker line) for McCain, but if I do I’ll have a twinge of regret for missing a historic moment.
5. tee bee | October 29th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
It’s right up there with “intellectual honesty,” which always makes me cringe.
When you have to qualify things like justice and honesty, you should realize that the problem isn’t in values, it’s in ideology. The terms don’t change, they’re “interpreted,” and meaning goes right out the window.
Re: historic moment – can you really say you’d be happy to pull the lever for either McCain or Obama? Most people have a twinge of regret after voting, but it’s mostly because of the kind of candidates we get.
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