RandFan quotes:
"War is an ugly thing but not the ugliest of things; the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feelings which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."
-- John Stuart Mill
RandFan, this is an interesting quote you have there that concerns freedom. Perhaps you can elaborate on it a bit further.
I would say that to criticize J. S. Mill would be to criticize the ideals of democracy in America.
It seems to me that the quote you carry there applies equally to a J. S. Mill as well as a Hitler, a fundamentalist or some other tyrant so long as they have a good sense of their own moral and patriotic feeling. So it condones centuries of fighting between Muslems, Christians, Jews, etc.
I am not completely certain about this one, but it may also condone the person shooting clients at aborting clinics.
I would also assume that Mill did not intend this to mean to individuals except in times of conflict. For example, it would not apply to the regular Joe who is simply supporting his family when all is good--regardless of where he was from. Meaning, that these individuals would not be expected to take off and join the armed forces simply because their sense of morality tells them to leave their families and join a cause.
Who is to say what represents a moral or patriotic cause? In the name of both, tremendous atrocities have been committed in the past.
But of course Mill is coming from a utilitarian belief--the greatest good for the greatest number. Of course, we know what the effect of that has been to minorities around the world.
