To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it.Gilbert Chesterton
(1874-1936)
3WW #78 March 19, 2008 by Bone
Money
Tangled
Understood
I wrote my blog, A Question From Alysia...., yesterday late in the evening. I was trying to put a face on the McCarthyism era for my granddaughter. History is an illusive thing for children. Explaining how people felt is a lot different than simply stating the facts. The tangled web of the past makes it very difficult for young people to decipher a deeper meaning. The thing that is forgotten is the context of an event. When this is somehow understood, perhaps through play acting , comparison to current events, or even imagination, history becomes meaningful and compelling.
The quote by Gilbert Chesterson I found on my blog this morning hit me like a ton of bricks. It said, "To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it. Gilbert Chesterton(1874-1936). Taken in the context of last night's piece, I found a deeper meaning to the McCarthy era. Just because the Senate had the right, or it was legal, or trendy, or self satisfying did not make it right. We need to remember that disclosure of another's faults is not required in many cases. Sometimes the truth does not demand it. While the Senate has the right to question people government needs to remember that the law of our land needs to make the final judgment.
There will always be people that take their beliefs to the edge of the cliff and then drag others after them as they fall into a hateful pit. Money is the driving force in these cases many times. Far right or far left is simply a corner. The center of the space finds those that want to examine the truth, truly understand both corner's opinions and take the best of both while discarding the hateful, mean, unforgiving, half truths found in each corner.
"To have the right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it." Thank you William Chesterton. I would agree. Moral character and ethics must come into the picture someplace. And our politicians would do well to keep that in mind.
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9 comments:
Tell that to the American government
This country becomes a bit sicker each day
Most people even my age name think McCarthy was only about The Hollywood Ten
He wasn't.
We haven't come far but regressed since then and that's hard
and i must admit than in the times in which we live,, i feel it is hypocritical to enforce mccarthy like tactics on the sex lives of politicians and movie stars etc... i feel as along as a person is doing what they are content with,, in the privacy of their own little corner of the world,, and it is not interfering with them professionally ... have at it...
i am very familiar with the wicked culmination of mccarthyism in the entertainment industry as i am an avid lover of classic black and white movies,, and have followed many a career thru the ruins....
a very sad stae of affairs... i was happy to read the letter you wroteto your grand daughter... maybe if we dont let things like this get buried under the carpet,, we will stand a better chance of not falling prey to the same kind of staunch judgmental idiots in the future...
If so many of us understand it, why does it happen? Nice post!
I have not heard this quote but do like it quite a bit.
The irony is that it is double-edged. One could use it to oppress. For example, "To have the right to marrying a same-sex partner is not at all the same as to be right in doing it." Or, "To have the right to protest the war is not at all the same as to be right in doing it."
What the quotation means to me is that the legal question of what rights and privileges exist must always be tempered by the personal code of ethics and morals each of us carries with us.
I love this quotation and your thoughts on it....with freedom comes responsibility too, doesnt it?
I liked the quote!
arched architecture
Thank you all for your comments.
I like the quote a lot. Had never heard it before, either.
Politics in our country too often provides frustration rather than hope and inspiration.
Great quote.
I personally rarely follow politics as I get too discouraged when I do. Maybe it's burrying my head in the sand, but...
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