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Date Posted: 20:09:12 10/16/05 Sun
Author: Finn Mac Cool
Subject: As I said in my above post, even fanatics have limits
In reply to: dlgood 's message, "Re: Somebody has to change their mind" on 15:49:27 10/16/05 Sun

Even people who are deeply committed to a cause can reach a point where they come to doubt it. Someone who was willing to perform a few robberies, house burnings, and assassinations for the IRA might balk if they found out that organization was involved in 9/11 style terrorist activities. Likewise, the Operative was willing to kill people for the Alliance's cause, but the Miranda incident was both far more massive and vicious in scope than anything the Operative had been involved with, and it showed the Alliance to be very fallible. You find the greatest fanatics among religions because they believe the entity/cause they serve is perfect and infallible. Not only was the death of a planet and the creation of the Reavers beyond what the Operative had a stomach for, but it also made it clear that supporting the Alliance might very well not lead to a better world; it could end up leading to a worse one. In order to kill for a cause, most people have to be 99% sure that it is right. The Alliance's efforts backfiring so badly on Miranda makes it seem less likely that the Alliance would be able to succeed in their goal of a better world, which makes it less justifiable to kill people for that cause. Imagine if a religious fanatic met God and saw him accidentally wipe out an entire country with a sneeze; only the most psychotic person wouldn't change their thinking a little in such a case. In real life, many fanatics, even when they come to doubt the righteousness of a cause and become uncomfortable with the increasing levels of violence, often go ahead, but that's usually because they're afraid of retribution or feel pressured to go on (like the Milgram Experiment). The Operative is unusual in that respect, but, as I said in my above post, he was an uncommonly brave, resourceful, and honorable individual, the sort who wouldn't support a cause they didn't believe in and is willing (and able) to risk retribution from a powerful foe.

And I wouldn't call the ending all rosey. The Operative did say, "Your broadcast has weakened their regime, but they are not gone, and they are not forgiving." The signal probably got some members of Parlaiment impeached, others disgracefully resigned, and others who probably aren't going to be re-elected, plus there will probably be a bit more scrutiny and resistence to trying to repeat/perfect the Pax in the future, but that's not so much "the problem's been solved" as "the problem's been made better."

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