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I see how the photographs could lead to disrespect, forgive me for being a little slow

I concede that, but as I alluded to earlier, I think the risk of that is something we must accept if we wish to maintain freedom of expression.

Perhaps our definitions of politics and its scope are not in sync. To me, every statement made by a political leader in their political role is a political statement. No politician makes statements without considering and moderating those statements against the potential political consequences. So therefore, to me, when a country's military is only engaged at the behest of that country's political leadership, that military exists for the actioning of political statements. I do agree with you that this is/would be not a happy state of affairs, but unless my understanding is incorrect, it is a very real one.

Quote:

Originally posted by jseal
Belial,

In your first post to this thread, you raised the question of how photographing a coffin could disrespect the person in it or their family. Following my explanation of how easy it would be to use the pictures of the coffins in a fashion which could plausibly be described as disrespectful, your second post allowed that you thought that the linked mosaic could be, and probably was intended to be disrespectful. As the images used for the mosaic could just as easily have been little flag draped coffins (perhaps as the colors of a tie, or a little lapel pin), I submit that the issue of how a photograph of a coffin could be used in a fashion which disrespects the person in it or their family may safely be considered resolved.

I would like to take this opportunity to point out that this does not indicate my preference for, or for that matter against, the armed conflict from which these photographs are taken. While that could be an interesting issue to debate, it is one in which I am unwilling to engage. I think that doing so here would be rash.

I hope you do not take it amiss if I disagree with you about the raison d'être of the military of a democracy. Their function is to execute the orders given to them by the political rulers of the state. You and I entrust the military to the politicians. You may be aware that the throw weight of the nuclear weapons of an Ohio-class (Trident) submarine is, at 91+ megatons, many times in excess of that used during the course of World War Two – even when including the weapons used at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The last thing I want is a highly politicized crew of one of those vessels to broadcast their ultimatum. Come to think of it, were that to come to pass, the ultimatum would probably be one of the last things I would hear.

If you want examples of politically active military, you need only look at the sorry history of South America during the second half of the 20th century.

And in re limited success with graphics, I feel you pain. Having spent more on graphic tools than I should have, I must admit to being “graphically challenged” myself.