Can We Just Agree…

John McG of Man Bites Dog has a list of things that are sometimes debated out of a misguided belief of necessity.  His point is that it is better to concede these things that are probably true anyway and just state the real objection. 

His list is:

• There probably are some circumstances under which torture would yield information that could not be gained otherwise.  (He relates later:  People don’t oppose torture because it’s ineffective; we oppose it because it is morally abhorrent.  Pretending otherwise doesn’t do anybody any good.)
• It is likely that embryonic stem cells have greater potential than stem cells from other sources.
• The earth is more than 6,000 years old.
• Many women have had abortions and not lived the rest of their lives in grief and despair.
• If you give someone a shot to protect them from STD’s just as they’re getting old enough to engage in sexual activity, they might receive the message that they are expected to engage in sexual activity, and most people don’t believe that’s a good thing.
• The Iraq war is not going nearly as well as we were led to believe it would.
• Saddam’s WMD were the central justification for the invasion being a just war.  The absence of WMD means that the war was objectively unjust.
• On balance, that Saddam Hussein is no longer in power is a good thing.

Things I would add to the list:

• Many women who have abortions do so with little pressure, fully informed, and under their full consent.
• Many people succeed and prosper despite their lack of skills, cruelty, and decision making ability.  Conversely, many fail who are skilled, nice, and can make good decisions.
• There are people who take advantage of ‘the system’.
• Many people grow out of marijuana use and don’t become crack heads.
• The post office generally delivers the mail quite well.
• Private industry can be cruel and illogical in their relations with their customers, and there isn’t always a ready alternative.
• There are many people who are personally opposed and live it.  For example, there are many who have long marriages but don’t condemn others remarrying.
• Only a minority of people avoid sex before marriage.

I don’t want to argue any of the items.  Rather, for a Friday, I would like you to add your own.