Sunday, September 24, 2006
Should the Pope have exercised his right to remain silent?
Should the Pope have exercised his right to remain silent?
There are of course multiple perspectives on how the media has handled the popes mistake of quoting an older text. One perspective says that if a religion claims they are of peace that they should bend over and take it. This of course feels too much like letting the police beat innocent folks in the street.
The perspective not discussed is whether the pope as a leader of a religious organization should have used better judgement. Let's pretend for a moment that a guy named James Robertson wants break into a military base. Beforehand, he understands that the soldiers in the guard tower adhere to the general orders and that you will get one warning and if you take another step you will get shot. So, James Robertson ignores what he knows and decides to test the system and of course the military puts a bullet in his behind. Should James Robertson claim that the soldier is violent?
In the same way I cannot walk into a crowded movie theater and yell fire, for the simple fact that the consequences of my words could get folks injured and/or killed, the pope has the same responsibility...
| | View blog reactionsThere are of course multiple perspectives on how the media has handled the popes mistake of quoting an older text. One perspective says that if a religion claims they are of peace that they should bend over and take it. This of course feels too much like letting the police beat innocent folks in the street.
The perspective not discussed is whether the pope as a leader of a religious organization should have used better judgement. Let's pretend for a moment that a guy named James Robertson wants break into a military base. Beforehand, he understands that the soldiers in the guard tower adhere to the general orders and that you will get one warning and if you take another step you will get shot. So, James Robertson ignores what he knows and decides to test the system and of course the military puts a bullet in his behind. Should James Robertson claim that the soldier is violent?
In the same way I cannot walk into a crowded movie theater and yell fire, for the simple fact that the consequences of my words could get folks injured and/or killed, the pope has the same responsibility...
