Necessity v. priniciple

A blog called Error Theory has a post comparing Keifer Sutherland and Ted Kennedy and their respective views on necessity versus princple:



"Kennedy was acting the outraged idealist in somewhat the same morally confused fashion as Sutherland, presuming that ideals and principles are not responsive to necessity. The difference is that Sutherland DOES recognize necessity. He just thinks it is somehow separate from principle, while Kennedy refuses to recognize necessity at all, perhaps because recognizing military necessity, and the war-powers that spring from it, would empower a president who he considers to be his enemy (the country, the will of the people and the Constitution be damned). Whatever the explanation, where Sutherland is merely confused, Kennedy is clearly perverse."



I argued earlier that our methods of interrogation have to be appropriate for the situation. I do believe that there are times will necessity will override principle. I do not know what I would do I someone was threatening the life of my wife or children, but I am fairly sure that I would not be considering the Biblical maxim and turning my other check. It is pure fantasy to think we can stick with our ambiguous princples of compassion and respect for human "rights" is the face of certain danger.