|
RL's last post gets to the point of something that is important. The "root cause fallacy" which many copnservatives and others speak of is not that there are no root causes, but that the root causes do not absolve one of responsibility for one's own actions.
The root cause fallacy manifests itself when one looks at a criminal and bemoans that he or she is a victim of his or her circumstances. Just today I was watching Ebert and whoever the otehr guy is, and Ebert started making excuses for this serial killer about whom a documentary had been made - about how abused she was as a child, how she was homeless and lived in the woods, etc. - which to him made executing her a travesty.
Those who don't understand this meaning of the root cause fallacy called the Bush Admistration hypocritical when it began talking about the importance of democracy and human rights in the Middle East. The critics said "see, here they are talking about addressing root causes!"
To get onto a soap box, this is about a larger issue, which is what the gift of reason means to human beings. We are products of our circumstances; we are not captives to them.
|