Man is the only creature disposed to kill huge numbers of members of his own species, and his instrument is usually the state.
Interpretation
This quote reflects on humanity's unique tendency for internal conflict and mass violence, often facilitated by governmental power.
Joseph Sobran highlights the paradoxical nature of humanity; unlike any other species, humans have a propensity for violence against their own kind, frequently orchestrated through political mechanisms. This observation invites a deep reflection on the role of the state in facilitating such actions, suggesting that societal structures can both protect and endanger the very people they are meant to serve.
In practice
In a debate about the role of government during times of war, this quote can emphasize the darker aspects of state power.
There has never been a humane communist regime. Marxism is inherently totalitarian. It recognizes no moral limits on the state. Itβs the most convenient ideology for aspiring tyrants; it also retains its appeal for intellectuals, who have proved equally skillful at rationalizing abuses of power and at exculpating themselves.
The prospect of a government that treats all its citizens as criminal suspects is more terrifying than any terrorist. And even more frightening is a citizenry that can accept the surrender of its freedoms as the price of "freedom".
To be poor does not mean you lack the means to extend charity to another. You may lack money or food, but you have the gift of friendship to overwhelm the loneliness that grips the lives of so many.
Philosophy is the highest music.
In every man's mind the good seeds of liberty are planted, and he who brings his fellow down so low, as to make him contented with a condition of slavery, commits the highest crime against God and man.
I will rejoice the day when they say: This is right whether we all rot on top of each other or not, dear children, as we certainly may. Either practice restraint or be prepared for crowding.
Since life is an ever evolving process, one should flow in this process and discover how to actualize and expand oneself.
When we Christians behave badly, or fail to behave well, we are making Christianity unbelievable to the outside world
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.