(Stuf4) wrote in message . com...
From stmx3:
OK...Who around here left the ladder by the moral pedestal?


I'd also like to make a comment about morals and ladders...

I don't criticize people for their efforts in climbing moral ladders.
I congratulate them. Striving to improve the ideals we uphold and
choose to incorporate into our lives is an endeavor that I see as
worthy.

If we see someone to be climbing in an errant direction, I don't want
them to stop climbing. I want them to continue climbing, but
reevaluate their vector. I happen to admire Pete's efforts toward
legislation to improve society. That's not to say whether I agree
with the direction. In either case, I admire his effort.


But who defines what that errant direction is? Do you? If not, why
do they need to "reevaluate their vector"?

In which direction does your moral compass point? Obviously not in
the same direction as Pete Knight's. Yet you would posthumously
"radio a vector to him", presumably to land on your moral airstrip.

What difference does it make if one heads N and another NNW, when
their paths don't cross? Or was yours a general informational
airman's notice: "Hey, ya'll...I'm aheadin' North. Now don't ya'll
come 'twixt me an' mah destiny, cause then I'm gonna have to be
admirin' you while I turn ya back on course!"

I hope you can see that I'm not telling you which way to go. I'm just
saying, "Keep your compass to yourself."

With an appropriate opportunity, this is the encouragement that I
would have given to Pete Knight. Back when he was flying X-15s, if
someone on the ground noticed that his flight path was not headed
toward the landing site, the proper procedure is to radio a vector to
him. But alas, his time has past and the best we can do now is to
learn from the example that he lived.


In short (akin to the glass-being-half-empty/half-full allegory):

Given a situation of a person being in a lofty moral position, this
can either be seen as a problem of a person who has climbed too
high...

...or a problem with the others who aren't climbing.


~ CT