The point of my post was to say that it shouldn't matter what the Native Americans did to another group of people, we are responsibile for our actions either way. Thus, my opinion was in no way based on whispers. As for my opinions about human nature, I assure you that those are firmly based on many, many other examples of both day-to-day experiences and history.

What you say about our comfort being based on technology is certainly true, but then what I said was true as well. The two are not mutually exclusive. There is no way we could have achieved dominance in the world if we hadn't achieved dominance on North America. The Native Americans believed that land should not be owned. Without our European ideas of ownership, our current economic prosperity would be impossible. Maybe we didn't have to kill them, but, other than slavery (which would have been just as bad), I don't see how else we could have kept them down.

I don't think we can compare different periods in history (e.g. Ancient Rome and Colonial America) and try to make some sort of judgement based on that. Ethics are very much a product of both the times and the place. Those who claim that their ethics are somehow invariant in time and space will eventually find their voices lost in the flow of society.

As for all the stuff about inaccurate reporting, I of course agree with you. It seems that journalists are less and less concerned with the truth with every passing day. When I see Time and Newsweek articles with words like "Sinister" and "Evil" in the title, I know that objective journalism has completely gone to hell. Free press basically means we have the freedom to propagandize ourselves, and I think we do it more effectively than any dictator could (I also apologize for ending on a low note).

• Legally and ethically.... - quiet - November 1, 2002 - 22:25 UTC
  • Different perspectives - cosmotiger - November 1, 2002 - 23:22 UTC
    • not "justifying"....rather, "establishing the facts": exactness - quiet - November 2, 2002 - 00:29 UTC
      • Good - cosmotiger - November 2, 2002 - 00:37 UTC
    • I'm not Eurocentric...Just apply standards of Africa or Asia too - quiet - November 2, 2002 - 00:34 UTC
      • For general knowledge? - cosmotiger - November 2, 2002 - 00:53 UTC
        • You are spamming the list on this topic - quiet - November 2, 2002 - 06:36 UTC
          • well-versed in the lying arts. - yaniru - November 2, 2002 - 13:40 UTC
            • Not at all.... - cosmotiger - November 3, 2002 - 09:15 UTC
          • Richard is right - harvey1 - November 2, 2002 - 15:33 UTC
            • Harvey is an anonymous sniper, an assassin - quiet - November 2, 2002 - 17:04 UTC
              • I'm ignoring you - harvey1 - November 2, 2002 - 18:23 UTC
                • You accuse me in the same post...so present the evidence - carefuluniverse - November 2, 2002 - 19:23 UTC
                  • Michael W. Pearson pushed me out with slander - yanniru - December 3, 2003 - 13:10 UTC
              • And he shot you good - cosmotiger - November 3, 2002 - 09:23 UTC
                • Sorry, Nicholas X, I don't believe in you - quiet - November 3, 2002 - 17:09 UTC
          • I do not respond to Yaniru's posts - quiet - November 2, 2002 - 17:23 UTC
            • I would rather that you did not respond - yaniru - November 3, 2002 - 02:48 UTC
              • Me too - harvey1 - November 4, 2002 - 02:00 UTC
          • It is a tragedy there is no point in my responding to Ruquist - quiet - November 3, 2002 - 06:24 UTC
          • That's enough - cosmotiger - November 3, 2002 - 09:14 UTC
            • You ask," What did I say about GWB?" - quiet - November 3, 2002 - 17:10 UTC
              • Dumbcakes - yaniru - November 4, 2002 - 12:34 UTC
              • This reply is for so-called Princeton guy - spazcon - November 4, 2002 - 16:06 UTC
                • Stop - cosmotiger - November 4, 2002 - 21:18 UTC
                  • Excellent response - harvey1 - November 4, 2002 - 21:53 UTC
                    • Peace Angel is Here for You - permanentwish - November 4, 2002 - 22:59 UTC
                  • Peace Angel is Here to Heal Your Wounds - permanentwish - November 4, 2002 - 22:57 UTC
                  • It's no use - aurino_s - November 5, 2002 - 15:15 UTC
                    • When one finger points at another, do you see the other 3 - quiet - November 5, 2002 - 20:53 UTC
    • Okay...z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-zz-z - quiet - November 2, 2002 - 06:06 UTC