Man is the only creature disposed to kill huge numbers of members of his own species, and his instrument is usually the state.
Interpretation
This quote reflects on humanity's unique tendency for internal conflict and mass violence, often facilitated by governmental power.
Joseph Sobran highlights the paradoxical nature of humanity; unlike any other species, humans have a propensity for violence against their own kind, frequently orchestrated through political mechanisms. This observation invites a deep reflection on the role of the state in facilitating such actions, suggesting that societal structures can both protect and endanger the very people they are meant to serve.
In practice
In a debate about the role of government during times of war, this quote can emphasize the darker aspects of state power.
There has never been a humane communist regime. Marxism is inherently totalitarian. It recognizes no moral limits on the state. Itβs the most convenient ideology for aspiring tyrants; it also retains its appeal for intellectuals, who have proved equally skillful at rationalizing abuses of power and at exculpating themselves.
The prospect of a government that treats all its citizens as criminal suspects is more terrifying than any terrorist. And even more frightening is a citizenry that can accept the surrender of its freedoms as the price of "freedom".
O, my offence is rank, it smells to heaven
Where perception is, there also are pain and pleasure, and where these are, there, of necessity, is desire.
I would say that the thrust of my life has been initially about getting free, and then realizing that my freedom is not independent of everybody else. Then I am arriving at that circle where one works on oneself as a gift to other people so that one doesn't create more suffering. I help people as a work on myself and I work on myself to help people.
Your hearts know in silence the secrets of the days and the nights.
And you should not let yourself be confused in your solitude by the fact that there is something in you that wants to move out of it.
It usually takes a hundred years to make a law, and then, after it has done its work; it usually takes a hundred years to get rid of it.
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