i definitely don’t have answers to all of the questions you and i have raised. in effect i’ve been taking inspiration from the issues you’ve raised to try and create a first draft in my own head towards the ethics of the whole situation. it seems to me that crucial distinction will be in the matter of drawing the line between inanimate object and slave. the boundary conditions of that distinction and the way is drawn are going to say a great deal about what kind of ethical creatures humans are.
i posit those measures precisely to make the stakes more uncomfortable. i’ve had an aversion to the phrase “heighten the contradictions” since the last election but my motive in raising those measures is definitely to throw the ethical implications into sharper relief, both for my own consideration as well as for others.
i don’t delude myself that these issues are going to be worked out here in a few exchanges of questions and comments but i appreciate your perspective as i try to sort out my own feelings about it.
