What is one life worth?

How much is one life worth? Is it worth 3 other lives?

The U.S. Navy SEALs recently "took out", an Orwellian euphemism for killed, three young Somalia black men to free one 53 year old American white male.

The young Somalia men were pirates and were holding the American hostage. The young Somalia men had not killed anyone. Of the hundreds of pirate attacks by Somalia men there is no evidence they ever killed one hostage.

Did the young Somalia men, living in a chaotic and poor country, have a moral right to steal? Would you steal if you were starving? Would you steal if you were a naive young man whose sister and families were threatened with violence if you did not comply with the gang leaders?

One of the surviving pirates was a scrawny teenager who will be tried in New York.

How much money did the young men stand to gain by their acts of piracy? The ransom monies were sent to Swiss bank accounts that were controlled by the Somalia warlords.

Did the mighty United States have a moral right to kill three young black men in order to free one 53 year old white man? Or did the mighty United States simply have the power to kill?

Throughout history tribes have always believed their tribe is more virtuous and right than other tribes. This is a defensive mechanism for survival. We are in favor of killing anyone that attacks a member of our tribe because we think we could be the next victim. As long as the attacks are against other tribes and our tribe is not threatened, we care little about retribution or justice.

Capt. Richard Phillips of the U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama volunteered to be taken hostage in return for the safety of his crew. That act by the pirates shows they were not interested in mass killing, as was the Navy SEALs.

Do you think a white female captain would have volunteered to be taken hostage in return for the safety of her crew? And how many young black Somalia men would the mighty American empire have killed if Captain Phillips had been a white female instead of male?

“It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets.” Voltaire

Charles Tolleson