courtesy. They don't have to let me into their country - the very least I can do in return for the privilege of visiting their country is to support the
That also goes against my feelings. The Earth isn't divided up by God to certain groups of special people.
Three points:
1) There is no god, ergo the point's underlying assumption is faulty.
2) Home ranges are a well understood biological phenomena, and are common to most motile animals. It shouldn't be a surprise that humans have them too.
3) The gods of mythology most certainly divided people into groups and territories. Take the Israelis of the bible/torah. Gods special people, fighting with others for the land god granted to them (despite the fact that the others were there first...but I digress). God frequently extolled them to murder/rape/enslave the "others" and to take their land. You can find similar stories in most other religious texts.
What courtesy do you show to the people who had that land taken off them way back in history? It's an insult to respect the usually murderous thieves and forget the victims.
And how do you decide who is the "original inhabitants", and why do they deserve special treatment? The entirety of
homo sapiens million-ish year history is one of successive waves of migration, invasion and replacement. To think this is somehow "immoral" is to ignore the biological history of each and every human on the planet. If it wasn't for that process you so readily discount as "evil", we as a species would not even exist.
Would you show similar respect to a gang who controlled part of town at night for them giving you the priviledge of walking through their turf? Sure you might make a token gesture to keep yourself safe, but if it was me I certainly wouldn't respect them or do any more than I had to.
But you just answered your own question - you (and I) would give them the token. Even you recognize the reality of the situation, although the comparison between a independent state and a criminal organization is vague at best.
Bryan
