Moral equivalence - two beautiful words that end the argument

[mackthefork]

I'm always being accused of, and hearing others accused of this moral equivalence, once the accusation has been levelled at you it sticks like [censored] to a blanket, so there is no use scrubbing, it's an indelible stain on your character.

None of the events or persons described here are real, this is purely to illustrate a point.

Anyway, I was walking down a street on my recent holiday to Baghdad and I understandably took a wrong turn, it is a little chaotic there at the moment, mistakes happen. So I took this wrong turn, and something rather unfortunate happened. Now I can only really blame myself for this, Thomas Cook vehemently recommended various alternatives, and you know a place is going to be bad when they try to get you redirected. Anyway I came out of this side street and into cross fire, inevitably I was shot in the right knee by an American bullet, and in the left knee by an insurgent bullet. To be honest I was annoyed by the American bullet, but I found it understandable, I could not for the life of me reconcile myself to the insurgent bullet though, non-uniformed combatants? How dare they! I would have been hopping mad had the Americans not blown off my other leg, as it was I didn’t know what to think (stumped? groan).

Anyway I woke up two days later in hospital feeling rather thoughtful, and a thought crossed my mind. I wonder why the Americans and the insurgents are firing at each other, when they have so much in common, after all is it not a fundamental belief in the USA that a man should have the right to bear arms to protect his home and lands against invaders? Hold that thought Mack I think you just fell foul of that old chestnut ‘moral equivalence’ again.

Regards Mack