A couple weeks ago, some friends and I were out having some drinks when we slipped into a discussion about the merits of the death penalty. There were four of us, and I was in the minority. Unlike the other three of my friends, I vehemently defended the death penalty and summarily dismissed the notion that it should be abolished because a few innocent lives have been lost to it. Even though I was among friends--good friends who have learned to tolerate my occasional emotionally-charged rants--I successfully embarrassed myself by arguing from my heart instead of my head. Good arguments rarely come from the heart alone.
Where am I going with this? Well, today I decided to challenge my views and, in the process, changed my position. This time, however, I'm championing a position after carefully reading and researching the topic for myself...as I encourage everyone to do when seeking the truth. I sought out objective sources that provided me with facts. Then, once I studied the facts, read reports, and checked the validity of the sources, I decided the argument for abolishing the death penalty was substantially more logical and legally sound than the argument to the contrary.
Winston Churchill once famously remarked that "a fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject." Well, I certainly don't consider myself a fanatic, and I have no interest in becoming one. I am not too proud of a man to admit when I'm wrong, especially when I'm as wrong as I was about this particular topic.
No matter where you stand on the issue, it would behoove you to educate yourself, as I did, on the topic. Personally, I found the following site to be the most comprehensive, informative, and well-researched: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/. If you don't have time to read through the entire site, at least take the time to read the concise Fact Sheet: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/documents/FactSheet.pdf.
If you're expecting me to let loose with a diatribe about why you should oppose the death penalty, you're out of luck. I've given you the facts...now you draw your own conclusions, as I did.
The main point of this entry is to encourage everyone to remember that "when dealing with people, let us remember we are not dealing with creatures of logic; we are dealing with creatures of emotion, creatures bustling with prejudices and motivated by pride and vanity." (Dale Carnegie).
Bottom line: Don't be a fanatic; do your own research; and, most importantly, never be afraid or too proud to change your mind.
Thoughts?
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Nice post. Love the Churchill quote.
ReplyDeleteWell done.
ReplyDeleteYou should be aware the DPIC is an established anti-death penalty group, mostly offering supporting facts that favor this view or are neutral. There are numerous strong arguments for the death penalty not addressed on this site. Additionally, the list of botched executions also includes many execution attempts resulting in delay due to procedural or technical problems, and not solely pain or suffering experienced during the execution, as alluded. Clearly, a tactical ommision. Additionally, find the "about us" page (yes, it is buried deep within the site) and you will find the board members. You will find the background of these distinguished individuals quite interesting. That is, if you research them via other sources. I mention this, not because the death penalty is wrong (or even justified), but because I feel it is always important to have multiple sources before chaning one's view on any important issue. Because we are constantly bombarded by opinions masquerading as fact, I do appreciate your method of analyzing important issues. However, I feel you are not yet to the analysis step of the process. Once there, you might still reach the same conclusion, or you may not...
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