It's been a couple of days since I reacted the way I did, to the declaration of my friend that killing innocent people was a good thing to do. I've spoken about this with a few people now, and the opinions have been relatively mixed. One person said my reaction was fair enough, another said I was a bit harsh, while yet another said they've never seen me so angry before.
My feelings about this haven't changed over the past couople of days, and while I'm no longer angry, I'm sad instead. Sad that someone I once appreciated has become someone I no longer want in my life.
I find it completely and utterly wrong to even consider that summary execution of innocent people could ever be a good thing. To go down this path makes us worse than the terrorists, because we're not killing an enemy – we're killing ourselves. We're doing more harm than good by restricting our rights, our freedom, our privacy and our lives.
'They' say that the war on terror is to protect those rights. Well, how can they be protected when they're actually being taken away from us? And it's not the terrorist who are taking these things from us, it's our own governments.
And now we have the beginnings of not just a US Police State, but a Global Police State, where the government and the police work together to destroy our rights, to create 'death squads' posing as anti-terrorism units. When a war to protect liberty results in the loss of liberty, the only truth is that we lose. All of us.
In terms of friendship, that's just a smaller version of how nations interact. We have friends who are like-minded, who share our interests and our beliefs. We choose not to associate with people who are in direct opposition to our belief systems, while befriending those who support us, or can be supported by us.
My beliefs hold life, freedom and individuality to be of absolute importance. Nothing is as important as these qualities. I will fight to protect them, and I will stand alongside those who feel the same way as me. This is, I believe, only natural.
It's all well and good to say that a person is entitled to their opinion, but there's a line that shouldn't be crossed, and my friend crossed that line when he said he supported the killing of innocent people. I would walk away from any person, no matter who they were, if they declared the same thing.
"I may not agree with what you say, but I will fight for your right to say it." And even though I will fight for your right to say it, I don't need to have you as my friend.
Thank you for all that you have done for me over the years, and for all that we shared. I'm sorry we grew apart. I will miss you.
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