Real Politik Revisited

A peer, who will remain anonymous,
recently clarified the definition of Real Politik for me:

"The meaning of Real Politik is that where your power limitations prevent you from accomplishing your goal, aim for a lesser goal or work toward that eventual end goal in practical realistic ways. Accomplishing that which can actually be accomplished."

While I appreciate the clarification, and my animosity toward this technique is somewhat lessened, it does not change the fact that this tactic, while attempting to accomplish good, is still riding on immoral lines. It negates the fact of intention, and allows power to overcome morality, which I still contest is unacceptable.

Allow me to restate my opinion:

There is absolutley nothing good or morally just in the
Chinese government's decision to censor its citizens.
And by not taking a stand and compromising with a negatively-intentioned government,
due to fear of retaliation,
either armed or financial,
we are inadvertantly supporting their decision
to blind its citizens from the truth.

The thing to keep in mind, my knowledgable classmate, is that this is only going to get worse before it gets better. And with our inadvertant support, the Chinese govenment is going to continue to stretch their power and continue to censor its citizens until we have another Holocaust on our hands.

Let me ask you this,
How many must suffer before we take a stand?
In my opinion,
There should never be a maximum on societal oppression.
There should never be degrees of govenment-induced censorship.

Perhaps you should remember why we, in the United States, seriously attempt to have Freedom of Press:

"A press that is free to investigate and criticize the government is absolutely essential in a nation that practices self-government and is therefore dependent on an educated and enlightened citizenry." -http://etext.virginia.edu/jefferson/quotations/jeff1600.htm


Or, put more simply, in the words of Thomas Jefferson:

"The only security of all is in a free press. The force of public opinion cannot be resisted when permitted freely to be expressed. The agitation it produces must be submitted to. It is necessary, to keep the waters pure." --Thomas Jefferson to Lafayette, 1823. ME 15:491

and:

"Our liberty cannot be guarded but by the freedom of the press, nor that be limited without danger of losing it." --Thomas Jefferson to John Jay, 1786.

And here's the real question, what do YOU think, blogees?
Can there ever be justification
for the utilization of Real Politik tactics?

**Continue to raise these questions and discuss these issues,
taking from all sides of the arguement,
in order to make an educated decision.**

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