Bushwhacker

What of those who choose to die for a principle, for honor? Can I die for freedom, or even duty and honor, in the service of a moral cause, because I decide life is not worth living without those things. For example, you are captured on the battlefield and then asked for information. If you talk, your captors promise that your life will at least be spared, but you will be giving the enemy information that will kill your friends and fellow soldiers - your countrymen as it were. If you don't talk, you will be tortured and killed, but you will retain your honor and die for what you believe in. Further, let's say your captors are vicious, totalitarian communist thugs who want to enslave your whole country, your family, everyone! Or maybe you are taken prisoner in Iraq by Islamic fanatics who demand information that will be used to attack and kill more American soldiers. If you don't talk, they will behead you. These are real moral questions faced by real people all the time, in one form or another. What does Objectivist philosophy say?

I would argue that the "happiness" or "unhappiness" of the criminal has nothing to do with any of this issue. When people group together for social and economic purposes, etc. (in other words, in "society"), rules become necessary for ordered functioning, thus "laws" are passed and enforcement mechanisms set in place. Now I CHOOSE to hold human life as a protected "right" (ie. as a "value", and under "law") because if I commit murder, I cannot expect others to not murder me in return. Therefore, I support laws against murder, and refrain from murder, in my own best interest (survival and freedom). Same with theft, etc. Now a "criminal" is one who, by definition, does not live by the rules society has set up, therefore he must always fear retribution not only from the individuals he has "wronged", but from the societal mechanisms as well (cops, courts, prison, etc.) And a criminal, unless he can read the future, can never be absolutely certain that he will go undetected and unpunished. THAT is a good enough reason for MOST people to not become criminals. (For example, in my own case, it might appear to a criminal that because I am an older man, that I might be easy prey to rob. What that criminal does NOT know is that I have a permit to carry a handgun, and that I am reasonably proficient in its use. I also have martial arts training in my background, and have done a lot of "scenario" type work. I might not be all that easy a victim as he might suppose. If you attack me and threaten my life, you are going to meet Mr. Glock! So there are very "practical" reasons to avoid being a criminal IF you value your own life and freedom, because you just never know what your "victim" might be capable of!) The fact that SOME criminals escape punishment is besides the point. The point, FOR ME, is that I choose the more rational path of NOT choosing criminal behavior because such behavior could land me in a whole lot of trouble! Plus, I have my own subjective concepts of integrity and honesty, and I want to be able to look myself in the mirror. Guilt is also something I would experience, although maybe not someone else. I try to live by the rule that I will treat people the way I would like to be treated, because it makes social sense - I am happy, others are happy. Now this may be oversimplified, but I believe there are a lot of "objective" reality factors in this equation, in addition to the "subjective" ones. I choose my values not based on whether SOME criminals might get away with their crimes, or whether SOME criminals might be actually happy (it's obvious many are not), but based on what the law of averages and common sense societal rules tell me the MOST LIKELY results of taking up a life of crime will be. Those are the objective factors, and I can SEE them played out daily in the news reports of how MOST criminals end up. So it's not for me... On top of all that, I TRY to live by a code of honor, loyalty, and integrity because it not only WORKS well in society, but it is also pleasing to my own image of myself (self-worth). It is also conducive to friendship and love, which I also enjoy and find fullfilling. When I fail in these things, I do not feel good about myself. So what I am trying to get at here is that to not live as a parasite and criminal is what works best both for myself and for society as a whole. By "works best" I mean that it both protects and promotes life and property rights, as well as promoting "happiness" by most comon and pratical definitions of the word. Why do I care about other people's happiness? Well, why would I want to live in a world full of miserable people? It would certainly "get to me" in one form or another, and maybe even threaten my own life and property and happiness. One way or another, it would drag me down! And furthermore, as long as my "subjective" values do not openly conflict with "objective" reality, then I do not violate the "rational" requirement in the equation of how I choose to live. On the other hand, I have no moral authority to demand that anyone else accept the subjective elements that I happen to like and choose. I do, however, have a "right" to expect that others around me obeserve "objective reality", because if they don't, they can become a threat to the existence of myself and others. That does not mean they will do it, it just means I will be on my guard around them! Ok, I admit it, I am new to the forum! So now I guess all you seasoned vets can straighten me out and tell me where all I have gone wrong here! Gurus number One, Two, and Three, FRONT AND CENTER!