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| Bush morally stunted, accuses Singer |
| 2004-04-16 |
| I used to have the misfortune of living a few streets away from this weirdo, until Princeton did the right thing and took him away President George Bush wants to be seen as a good Christian leader but, according to a new book by Australian professor Peter Singer, he actually has the moral development of a 13-year-old boy. Professor Singer, a prominent ethicist whose own morality has been the subject of much debate, said Mr Bush saw the world "very simply, in black and white, as good versus evil, and he thinks that America is the good guy, and therefore whatever America does is right". "That’s incredibly dangerous when you are the leader of the most powerful nation on earth," Professor Singer told The Age. "But that belief is what enabled him to justify starting a war with Iraq that would cost thousands of innocent people their lives." Professor Singer’s book, The President of Good and Evil: the Ethics of George W. Bush, does not conclude that Mr Bush is himself evil "because that’s not a word I throw around too much". Neither does Professor Singer go so far as to say that Mr Bush is stupid, "which a lot of other people might say. But I do think he’s a moral failure, in his own terms, and in any terms." Now, it should be said that Mr Bush likely has the same view of Professor Singer. After all, the Australian professor - who was recently described in The New Yorker as one of the most influential and controversial philosophers alive - believes that parents should be able to kill their disabled children; that animal lives have the same value as human lives; and that adult children should, in some circumstances, be able to decide when to end the lives of demented parents. So who is he to comment on the President’s ethics? "I hold a different view (of the sanctity of human life), it’s true," Professor Singer said. "But Bush claims to believe that human life is sacred. So my book asks whether his statements about human life, and his willingness to go to war in Iraq are actually consistent, or is it evidence of muddled thinking?" Professor Singer said Mr Bush was wrong to go to war in Afghanistan (he suggested that a truly Christian leader would have "turned the other cheek" when America was attacked on September 11, 2001) because it led to the loss of innocent life. He said Mr Bush was also wrong to go to war in Iraq, since Saddam Hussein posed no threat to the US. He conceded that all presidents had moral failings, but said Mr Bush’s were more serious, because of his power. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #11 Idiots have been with us since the beginning of time. The only difference now is that we print what they have to say as news. In my opinion Mr. Singer is an educated Idiot. |
| Posted by: Joe C 2004-04-19 11:22:40 PM |
| #10 believes that parents should be able to kill their disabled children I wonder how he'd feel about students being allowed to euthanize a mentally disabled professor. |
| Posted by: Anon_of_E-LB-Ca 2004-04-17 12:05:24 AM |
| #9 Its not a social issue to singer, but a deep philosophical issue, or something |
| Posted by: tipper 2004-04-16 11:11:57 PM |
| #8 Moral relativism---a great philosophy for people too whimpy and invertibrate to take a stand and put themselves on the line for their beliefs. It is an attractive philosophy for one that sits in the comfort of an outdoor cafe, protected by troops who put themselves on the line to protect his ass and his free speech. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2004-04-16 11:11:09 PM |
| #7 Do you have to use protection with the dog? It's an important social issue, ya know... |
| Posted by: Raj 2004-04-16 10:42:49 PM |
| #6 Fred, does the dog have to be consenting? |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-04-16 10:34:04 PM |
| #5 Singer also says it's okay to hump your dog. The New Yorker might think he's one of the most influential philosophers alive, but I think most of us dismiss him after the first sentence or two. |
| Posted by: Fred 2004-04-16 9:58:58 PM |
#4 Bush ... has the moral development of a 13-year-old boyWhich is 13 more years of moral development that you have, you loser. What a crock. Move to Europe where your pathetically simplisme "thinking" will fit right in and make everybody happy, jackass. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2004-04-16 9:58:01 PM |
| #3 Peter Singer is a prick!!!!!!Everytime he opens his yap, he spews unbelievably amoral crap! Now I am reduced to the moral development of a 13 yr.old, my comments deteriorating into name calling, but ARGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!What an asswipe!!!!!!!!!!Pretentious, nihlistic, wanker, loony tunes, dickless, etc. etc. |
| Posted by: debbie 2004-04-16 9:53:10 PM |
| #2 I don't know this singer but he sounds like someone who thinks Good and Evil does not exist. That nothing and nobody (abd no act) is evil or bad. Everything is relative to your viewpoint. Turn the other cheek after 9/11? Typical Left bullshit! |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2004-04-16 9:52:05 PM |
| #1 if you piss off a cretin like Singer, you're doing something right |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-04-16 9:33:52 PM |