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How would we be different from them, killing those whose actions we don't like? I don't know! Maybe there's a measuring rod somewhere in the universe where men's' acts are judged, and those who kill other men for the sake of power will be judged more harshly than those who kill those power-hungry men for the sake of freedom. But if there's no place in the universe for a man to resist the thieves of freedom and still be called a good man, then I don't think there is any good or evil in the universe, and it all means nothing and it wouldn't make any difference, there comes a time when you have to take lives in order to - listen to me - in order to -

Orson Scott Card#908

MoralityFreedomPurposeViolence

About this quote

What does it mean?
The speaker wrestles with the morality of killing for freedom versus power.
In plain terms
If killing for freedom is wrong, then good and evil may not exist.
What can you take from it?
Moral justification for violence depends on purpose.

Where it applies

  • armed conflict
  • revolutionary choices
  • personal ethics

Putting it to work

  • define moral limits
  • justify actions
  • weigh consequences

Questions to consider

  • Can violence ever be righteous?
  • How do you judge bad actions?

Another view

The quote is fragmented and trails off at the end.

More from Orson Scott Card

  1. We haven't the power to change men's hearts. We're not responsible. It isn't our fault. Your hands are clean aren't they? Out here where the sun keeps everythi…

    Permalink to quote #907
  2. They're afraid of death! Can you at least imagine what that means? We fear death, too No... You resent death. You regret death. But as for your own life, you k…

    Permalink to quote #909
  3. Unfree as the world was. They didn't really know it, and they were at peace. Who was I to think that this peace was worse than war?

    Permalink to quote #906

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