Dr. Martin Hash Podcast

Sanctimonious posturing gets in the way of many debates, often totally obscuring whatever valid points are trying to be made. The worst of the worst of these conversation-killers is invoking the “saves lives” trope. Anyone need only to look around them to see that lives, even children's lives, are subject to other priorities; riding in cars, for example, kills 10s of thousands of people a year, but we still drive; food poisoning kills thousands, but we still eat; and drowning in the bathtub kills more people than gun accidents. Even in popular culture, we send young people off to war, participate in extreme sports, and do dangerous jobs for money.

In a priority list of things, human life may not be in the Top 10? Even things, animals & concepts are often more important than human life. I value a fully-restored 1958 Packard more than I value a random human from somewhere poor & far away, and so does everyone with two cars or a Season's Ski Pass. A single Black Rhino is worth thousands of Syrian refugees drowning in capsized boats, and one of the most revered quotes in American history is "Give me liberty or give me death."