On Sun, 8 May 2005 10:46:57 -0500, Gary Denton wrote

In the days that have passed since we all talked about our options with regard
to Iraq, I realized that I left out one of the most important ones.  And since
Gary brought it up again, I'll take this opportunity.

The idea that we must restrict ourselves to options that have a provable
liklihood of success is faithless and not borne out by history.

I'll offer a very simple explanation, by way of the same illustrations I used
before.  What if Ghandi had waited for a practical plan that was likely to
succeed?  Nelson Mandela?  Abolitionists in the United States?  And countless
others who did what they believe was right, without any idea or good reason to
hope for success, whose movements and actions succeeded anyway?

To seek peaceful change is almost always impractical.  It seems as though when
the stakes are highest, we are least likely to be able to use logic to prove
how to maximize the liklihood of a desired outcome.  But this is the essence
of faith and hope, and history is full of stories of people who did great
things with a big vision and small actions, rather than big plans that try to
control the outcome.

Nick


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