Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire.—Gustav Mahler

Friday, April 15, 2005

A Cautionary Tale

The Reform Club is an open-minded place; although its host authors have worldviews with very large fields of overlap, our policy is not to censor the Comments section, except in very extreme cases of bad taste. As the Dean of the Yeshiva I attended was wont to say: "The only people we expel are those who are experiencing prophecy."

Yet, the comment by Tlaloc below, offering 'perspective' for the 9/11 murderers, seeing them as an inexcusable yet understandable response to this nation's oppressive policies abroad, stands well beyond the pale of civilized discourse and by right should be excised.

The decision to leave it was not based on 'allowing that view to be heard in the arena of intellectual debate'; rather, it is there as a demonstration of the absolute horror that can emerge from a mind that is not moored in bedrock values.

1 comment:

Tom Van Dyke said...

Jay:

Although murder is surely evil, and "evil" is a useful political shorthand for al-Qaeda, in the interest of the "love of wisdom" I offer an essay I ran across with thoughts worthy of being entertained without necessarily being accepted.

Best,
P-Dude