On treason
Ok, I've delayed long enough. I had hoped to post a longish entry on this subject, but got bogged down in researching it. Quagmire!
The short version is this: In order to...
1) Preserve the meaning of the word, (Don't let anyone define treason down into irrelevance. The word torture for example, just as serious a charge, has become meaningless.)
2) And keep revenge an incidental concern, (By which, I mean our actions should be motivated by the larger goal of fixing the problem of leaks. Investigating the source of the leaks does that, and inconvience / legal distress to reporters is an incidental event. Emotionally satisfying, sure. But not our primary motivation.)
3) And maintain political feasibility... (The NYT is itching for a first amendment fight to bolster support for the proposed, assinine Shield Law. Lets not give it to them. Yes, this is a pragmatic concession. Yes, it grates on me.)
... we should hold that using the word traitor to describe the NYT is a bad idea.
That's where I stand. Sorry I couldn't deliver the long essay I'd planned.
The short version is this: In order to...
1) Preserve the meaning of the word, (Don't let anyone define treason down into irrelevance. The word torture for example, just as serious a charge, has become meaningless.)
2) And keep revenge an incidental concern, (By which, I mean our actions should be motivated by the larger goal of fixing the problem of leaks. Investigating the source of the leaks does that, and inconvience / legal distress to reporters is an incidental event. Emotionally satisfying, sure. But not our primary motivation.)
3) And maintain political feasibility... (The NYT is itching for a first amendment fight to bolster support for the proposed, assinine Shield Law. Lets not give it to them. Yes, this is a pragmatic concession. Yes, it grates on me.)
... we should hold that using the word traitor to describe the NYT is a bad idea.
That's where I stand. Sorry I couldn't deliver the long essay I'd planned.