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Fine, now that I know that, to you, medical ethics are nothing, you've told me all I need to know. I'm not trying to persuade you. Do you think I care whether you agree with me? No. I'm telling you why I disagree with you. That I do care about. I have no further interest in any of your opinions. There's nothing you wouldn't make an excuse for. You know what? I wouldn't want you on my side. I was telling you why I knew that Howard Dean was a psycho and a fraud, and you say 'That's O.K.' Fuck off. No, I mean it: fuck off. I'm telling you what I think are standards and you say, 'What standards? It's fine, he's against the Iraq War.' Fuck. Off. You're MoveOn.org. Any liar will do. He's anti-Bush. Fuck off...Save it sweetie, for someone who cares. It will not be me. You love it, you suck on it. I now know what your standards are, and now you know what mine are, and that's all the difference -- I hope -- in the world.

Christopher Hitchens#87

PoliticsWarEthicsDebateStandards

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About this quote

What does it mean?
The speaker rejects another person's moral standards regarding the Iraq War and refuses further engagement.
In plain terms
I disagree with your standards and will not talk to you.
What can you take from it?
Moral disagreement can end a conversation.

Where it applies

  • political argument
  • ethical debate
  • personal conflict

Putting it to work

  • setting boundaries
  • ethical critique
  • debate

Questions to consider

  • When do we stop debating?
  • How do standards shape arguments?

Another view

Dialogue may be possible despite disagreement.

More from Christopher Hitchens

  1. (Howard) Dean is a raving nut bag...a raving, sinister, demagogic nutbag...I and a few other people saw that he should be destroyed.

    Permalink to quote #86

  2. I mean, for me, it's enough to be at war. The crucial thing is to be at war. [13]

    Permalink to quote #88

  3. A theory that seems to explain everything is just as good at explaining nothing. [12]

    Permalink to quote #85

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