Posted on 06/21/2018 12:15:19 AM PDT by Forgotten Amendments
If you noticed I asked if you had ever actually done what you claimed you would do, just to clarify that indeed you hadn't and that you were merely thumping your chest as to how magnificent and honorable you are. All well and good, but not really convincing.
You said: I didn’t claim I would do anything. I said if I remained silent I would consider myself a coward. I would deserve the shame and scorn of my fellow Americans..
You further said: If I looked the other way at corruption, then I would deserve to be called a coward. I would feel dirty taking taxpayer money for my salary and pension. I would also have contempt for any apologist who tried to excuse my actions.
Which most certainly implies you would do something, though you don't actually state what you would do. Though you did say: They are silent accomplices in the destruction of our Republic and Constitution. Cowardly scumbags is what their legacy will be.
Which pretty much leads one to conclude that you would say something, or in affect become a whistleblower. Making that leap from saying what you would do, when the likelihood of you ever being confronted with the situation is probably nil, to actually following through with your noble proclamation is a whole different ballgame.
Like a liberal, you have to resort to attaching a label to me, even though you know nothing about me. Just like you have no clue how you would react if you actually were faced with the situation. I won't pass judgement as to what you would do, because I have no clue, but I am very skeptical now of your claims of bravado.
I know you would like for me say that I would absolutely do tbe patriotic thing in their situation, consequences be damned. But the fact is, I don’t know. I might be a true patriot or I might be a coward.
If I do the right thing, I’m a patriot. If I stay silent, then I would be a coward and accomplice - just like those Good Agents. Anyone who tried to make excuses for such cowardice would be an apologist.
And yes, you are an apologist for the cowards who stay silent.
No I am not. I am saying they are faced with a daunting decision. But I do not condemn them for the decision to remain quiet and label them cowards. Primarily because I do not know how I would proceed myself. I know I am a patriot, and I am willing to bet most of them are patriots as well. But the sacrifice, or the great potential for sacrifice, does play heavily and even more so when you have loved ones that would be adversely affected by your decision.
Were I an orphaned single person, then the decision would become far easier, but still daunting. Hopefully under those conditions I would speak out, and even you would see me as a patriot.
You are wrong as to what my goal was. It was for you to admit that bluster is easy and placing a label on someone is just not right. Because in certain circumstances, doing the right thing is very hard and the sacrifice you make may be all for naught. Many people, and most likely the majority, are unwilling to become the sacrificial lamb without knowing what the final outcome just might be. I do not disparage them with a negative label, especially when I do not know exactly how I would react when faced with that choice. I think that if I were the lone person putting myself up in front of a buzz saw, then the circumstance might make me take that plunge. There is no doubt in my mind though that I would be second guessing my decision as that buzz saw grew ever closer. Most have an inherent instinct for self-preservation, and I am no different.
Look at Edward Snowden. He has payed a heavy price for his actions. While some view him as a traitor, others view him as a whistleblower. Even I am conflicted as to what he is. Mainly because I think he went way too far with things he revealed, even though I appreciated some of his revelations. Let me end by saying that I am glad we both were able to come to some understanding and relish the fact that we could communicate. You are not my enemy, and hopefully you now realize that I am not your enemy. We just disagree as to whether or not those who stay silent are cowards or not. That remaining silent does not mean that they are any less patriotic either. Hopefully you will see them in a more empathic light. While they are in a small way complicit, the truth is they just lacked, or perceived they lacked, the fortitude to come forward. Especially if they had seen someone else eviscerated for doing so. But they probably should have concocted a plan similar to deep-throat in Watergate. I would like to think that at the very least I would speak out in that fashion. But unless I could deliver proof without having my identity compromised, it would end up going no where and fast.
“I am saying they are faced with a daunting decision. But I do not condemn them for the decision to remain quiet and label them cowards.”
You are making excuses for the Good Agents not doing the right thing. That is the very definition of an apologist. Yeah, they may lose their job or worse. That’s the test of a patriot - doing the right thing and let the chips fall.
Whether you or I or anyone else would do the right thing in that situation is irrelevant to the cowardice of the Good Agents, sellouts that they are.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.