Re: [FT][SG][DS] Canada, the US Civil War II, and the structure

Mark spake thusly upon matters weighty: 
>	That's because the rest of the world respects freedom the same
way most
> people respect dog shit.  America is, or at least it was supposed to
be,
> the first society that put the freedoms of the individual first.

Actually, although this logic is appealing, and based off a certain 
set of moral principles (such as the belief that rights are an 
inherent property of the individual and power flows from the 
individual to the state not vice versa), there are some issues with 
this line of thought - one that springs to mind is the assumption 
that society is in fact a collection of individuals solely, nothing 
more nothing less.  

I suspect the truth is far more complex than this simple viewpoint: 
Society and our interaction with it is something more than the sum of 
the parts. Our relationships to each other through society have more 
of a synergistic element and there are more complex mechanics at work 
other than mere individuals working together in some sort of 
collective individual isolation. And just as societies are more 
complex and contain aspects outside of the individuals they 
encompass, they provide benefits that the individual receives as a 
participating member which the indivdual (if such a truly mythic 
beast as an autonomous independent individual actually exists) 
himself or herself would not have were it not for the existence of 
this complex aggregate entity known as a society. 

I think debating fundamental ideology is ludicrous - it is obvious 
many of us on the list are rooted in the "rightness" of our culture's 
world view. Small wonder Mr. Tuffley suggests the GZG universe has no 
singular villains and no singular white knights. It is, in that 
sense, only a macrocosmic representation of our own differences made 
manifest. 

BTW, Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year to the list! 

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Thomas Barclay		     
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Fax: (613) 831-8255

 "C makes it easy to shoot yourself in the foot.  C++ makes
 it harder, but when you do, it blows away your whole leg."
 -Bjarne Stroustrup
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