A hypothetical if I may to guage posters reactions.
A message is hand delivered to every world leader simultaneously, it is on a material not unlike paper but has no known Earthly substance with in it.
It is obviously alien to this planet and due to delivery methods [ sudden appearance on the desks of all world leaders as they and witnesses watched]
and also what is incrediby obvious is that the potential of the intelligence behind the message has every capacity to carry out what that message includes. [ it is written in all languages appropriate to the world leader in question.]
The message states unequivocally, and in no uncertain terms that within the next 7 Earth days all ability to use offensive violence against another person will be removed from existence. Only the ability to use defensive violence will be allowed to remain.
- What would be your reaction to such a message?
- Would you feel your self determination to be violated?
- Is the alien only doing what may take another 2000 years to acheive for us?
- How do you feel about the prospect of "No offensive violence" therefore Global peace?
Meaning: no violence can be deliberately committed against another other than in self defense.
They the aliens intend to place a mental/emotional block on this ability so that it does not manifest in Society and with in the persons concerned and do it in a very thorough, complete, wholistic way.
The reason they have given for their intervention is that the Earth is about to be joining the Galactic community and offensive violence is not tolerated.
Which leads to the following ethical dilemma and the main purpose of this thread:
Are they the aliens justifying their own overt form of violence by forcing Humans to change their ways even if it is the last time that violence is used between them and us?
" the reason for the hypothetical is actually about how we tend to justify offensive violence and by posing the hypothetical it should be interesting see how we do."
Interesting thread QQ. Basically in the US doing violence against another is punishible as a crime the seriousness of which must be determined case by case. Is you question complete or do you include boxing, mutual sword play - to the death, road racing, football, baseball where a pitcher throws a fast ball "high and inside" to build some fear and respect by the batter. I assume even those 'down under' know about these sports.
Your thread covers classic criminal activity, but the voluntary stuff is always a n on trivial condition.
Personally, even in 'sports' a deliberate of violence against another player fdor the purpose of incurring harm to a star player when the act is clearly unrelated to the action of the game should be punished. A US basketball player 25 years past was blindsided by an opposing player who flagrantly broke the vistim player's jaw. No legal action was taken but a suspension of a few games was imposed. These kinds of activities are openly understood as 'part of the game' evenm though some 'moral' participants do not engage in such flagrant violence. The hyprocrisy is clear and the message is clear that for many mutual sport activities assaiult serious violence is not treated equally, which means the non-violent participant does not enjoy the same legal protection as the viewing and even nonviewing public.
If the aliens giving the message proved to be capable of enforcing their 'rule' in an efficient manner, or even significantly, more fair and just than the best of what third millenium societies can provide, then if the condition is strictly limited to removing or 'educating' violent people then why not? As long as basic fairness is intrinsic to the alien's behavior then n o harm no foul.
As I say this I am reminded that organized society has evolved to a point where the last century was the most violent of any recorded century in the human saga. Some members of societal elite, strong jawed-pursed lipped-furrow browed-steely eyed politicians would immediately begin pounding the rostrum for an organized force to repel the alien's for the simple reason that they weren't part of any political process and these pol types would bristle at the intrusion even if the alien plan was working. I suppose you include organized warfare where WWI and WWII , Korea, Vietnam, the Boer war, Pakistan v India, the French Revolution, the American Revolution were not violent enterprises that were justified on the part of any participant. If, for instance King George and the British Parliment nlot acted so high handedly vis a vis the Yankee revolutionaries and that equality, representation in Parliement was permitted it would have been an impossibility to stir up the US public and engage ion violent activities to gain "freedom" would have been unthinkable. The mere separation of the Brits and Yankee Doodle Dandy by the Atlantic Pond wasn't enough by itself to make war occur. Thje English were not strangers to the colonies, the laws, and social climate were similar and the Brits weren't actually all that cruel to the colonies as trade and economics was the whole point of the 'thing'. But as it wpould be unthinkable for GB to grant or cede the independence to the colonie that was at a level after the American "won", and even mere rabble rousing and demonstrations etc wold not have been tolerated. But see India that was militarily and economically violated by the Brits for no other reason than the English ecomonic structure was geared to always requiring more. The English Army didn 't appear in India as a benewvolent act of peace andf tranquility. Vietnam wasn't conquered by the French for moral and ethical reasons and a funny part of these two slave driving countries is that they both referred to the people they subjugated as "our colonies" as part of the "Empire" that was perpetuated , not necessarily by back room conspraies , ratrher the French and English saw themselves as performing a natural function in civilizing the various WOGS they subjugated around trhe world.
Currently, the US is performing a similar action in Iraq and Afghanistan not for the purpose of forcing a system of goivernment on those countries b ut rather to force a regime change that is sympathetc to the US position as the apparent dominating economical force in the world. Saddam Hussein's regime at the time the US invaded Iraq was far less harmful to the Citizenry than that developed after the US conquered the country and imposed not only a structured government, but they basically selected and approved of the government employees.
Would Alien Force of ETs rectify the current violence in Asia and the CIA dominated South American Countries, (anything south of Texas) except Cuba?
I want to add a footnote where the Honduran military executed a coup d'etat and the propaganda I heard from the supporters of the coup in Honduras and the participants themselves all speaking with a straight and serious face (on a level one sees in relativity theorists discussing SRT) that the coup was constitutionally and democratically justified event that was necessitated because the current 'leader' was planning to stay for an illegal extra term.
Do i get dinged for long windedness? and straying off the thread's obvious limitations? I wasn't violent.
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