> Which brings me to my solitary point of dissent - I do not believe the "can vs. must" argument should be echoed more than it is. I'm a philosophy/religion major (along with the significantly less relevant major of theater, which I also pursue - yes, folks, I'm a college student), and, far too often I hear that argument. We don't need the question repeated more often - we need the answer. How far is too far? But, then, who's to judge that?
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Hi Darien,

I wouldn't really call this a point of dissent, since I happen to agree wholeheartedly with you that to simply raise a question is not to answer it. American society presently is very good at the one, and pretty lousy at the other, if you'll pardon me for making a blanket generalization like that. Doing the hard work of sorting through issues and comparing values and principles requires more patience and maturity than we usually seem to have, but answers to complex problems only come with a great deal of effort, including discussion and often compromise.

I double-majored in English and Religion in college, and completed a Master of Divinity degree in May this year. I'm intensely interested in the task of doing ethics in the modern (or post-modern, or whatever) social and intellectual climate. That's probably why I automatically latched onto Diane's little opinion piece about the microwave oven, although she probably didn't intend for it to be taken quite so seriously. :-)

Iss