<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; =
charset=iso-8859-1">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.2600.0" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>"<FONT face="Times New Roman" =
size=3>It seems to me
that love, loyalty, clarity, beauty, truth and eroticism (in<BR>no =
special
order) are all very valuable things, but all of them come =
into<BR>conflict with
morality."</FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>It is perhaps not so much that these =
things
conflict with morality but it is within these things that morality =
belongs. If
by "conflict" one means "encounter" then so they do, as within these =
spheres of
existence one is often obliged to make a choice, preferably a choice =
that
directs the individual toward the Good. There is rarely any cut and dry =
black
and white answer in any situation as the moral action depends on the =
three
moments of; intention, act and consequence. It is impossible to =
claim that
Coppola's work represents "loyalty above morality" as the act of loyalty =
is in
itself a moral act with its own intention, action and consequence in =
which the
individual engages; loyalty and war are in conflict, morality belongs to =
both.
To illustrate this consider Romeo and Juliet in which love is placed =
above
loyalty, or it may be incorrectly expressed "morality above loyalty;" =
love and
loyalty are in conflict, morality belongs to both. (Apocalypse now =
might
itself be examined morally in terms of its own intention, action and =
consequence
within the genre of war film.)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>"<FONT face="Times New Roman" =
size=3>Well, it's
like this: if you were God (feeling bored on the sixth<BR>> day of =
Creation),
& about to create human beings, what kind of<BR>> dicta would you =
try
your critters to embody so that they are "nice,<BR>> good, _lovable_ =
critters
-- in parts"? Your reply will inform the<BR>> contents of the
Immanuel."</FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Why assume God felt bored! Perhaps =
assume that God
created humanity in his image (something I think I have heard somewhere
before!); with the capacity for "niceness, goodness and love," the =
freedom to
choose these, and the inherent capacity to recognise difference enough =
to make
that freedom viable. Experience of God's love (rather than fear of =
loosing it)
may present the reason to emulate it in what way one can. Morality is =
the
struggle between doing what I want and doing what I have the capacity to =
do,
between the path of least resistance and the path of <U>practicing</U> =
virtue
until it becomes a good habit. </FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>