Page 7 - Ferry Tales

Donnerwetter

“No, that cannot be! I was defending civilization against enemies
with no compunction. They would have destroyed us if we had been
civilized about fighting them. Why, they even had mercenaries in
their ranks!”
Now I had him. “Oh, so you were superior to them?”
“Of course,” he says smugly. “They kill for money; we kill to
preserve truth, justice and liberty.”
“I see. You and your leaders decide who to attack, based on such
principles.”
“Right!”
“Not right at all. The mercenary’s motto, if I may quote one of its
exponents, is ‘Kill ‘em all; let God sort ‘em out.’ That is, they do not
presume to usurp the deity’s prerogative in passing judgement on
their targets. You do, praising the Lord and passing the ammunition
to destroy lives just as indiscriminately. Who is superior here? Not
you. And you’re hypocritical, too: your religion condemns birth
control and suicide, on the grounds that man commits a crime against
God by ending his own life, and woman does the same by ending
that of her fetus. Not one soldier fighting under the banner of his
religion or political doctrine has circumvented sitting where you are
right now.”
“Collateral damage is inevitable for a noble cause.”
Back to eggs and omelets. I see that he’s not getting it. I try
another nursery rhyme. “Collective punishment for the innocent, eh?
Served up by a guilt-free collective armed to the teeth? Don’t you
recall this from your salad days?—

The selfish dream
They can redeem
Their self-esteem
In this proud scheme:
A selfish team.

And do you think you are capable of judging your own life? The
game warden decides if you have caught a fish of illegal size,

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