Quick Quiz ....what percent of the population, do you think, wakes up in the morning and says to themselves "I am going to do something evil today?" Ok....now keep that number in your head. Stand up. Walk towards the nearest window and look out.
An individual's personal opinion of an act is a pretty poor indication of the actual goodness of the act. We are all human beings. When we feel pressured, threatened or scared we often react in threatened ways. Even worse, we are all experts at being able rationalize these actions away.
The second point to take from this story is that every person is influenced by the presuppositions of their time. We all have blind spots. Thomas Jefferson wrote some of the most inspired words on the dignity and rights of men that the world has ever know. His words literally inspired the birth of democracies around the world. Yet, like many people of his time, Thomas Jefferson owned slaves.
If Thomas Jefferson could not see the humanity of the slaves that were right in front of him, how can we be so certain that we fully appreciate the dignity of the unborn children that the world wishes to hide?
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