Have you noticed how easily we accept excuses? Have you noticed how quickly we resort to excuses? Why don't we take the time to seriously think about things? Why do we allow an action to be justified with a casual excuse with heavy consequences?

Source: giphy.com

Collateral Damage

How often do we hear the term collateral damage? It is thrown about casually. It is the go to excuse for attacking any target we want and being able to splatter the bodies of others about as long as we get our target.

In truth Collateral Damage should be accidental, and not knowingly included in the operational plan. If there was collateral damage it should have been unplanned. All steps to make sure it doesn't happen again should be taken.

If this is not how it is treated then it is really MURDER being brushed under the rug as collateral damage. It is also very dangerous to take this risk knowingly. When you knowingly kill another person as collateral damage who simply happened to be in the vicinity of your target you truly do not have any way of predicting the ripples the murder of that innocent person might cast.

In fact the death may so infuriate a loved one or witness to that murder that you could end up creating one or more people who end up being worse than the target you so casually deemed it worth killing innocents over.

Let's get rid of this term. Collateral Damage that is knowingly engaged in before it happens is murder. It is not an accident. There was intent so it is murder.

Source: giphy.com

Occam's Razor

In talking about some phenomenon or study where the answer is not certain it is not unusual for people to fall back on Occam's Razor and basically end the conversation at this point.

That is indeed something to consider, yet it is important to note that Occam's Razor is a two word method of saying when it comes to probabilities the simplest answer is usually the right one. It is important to know that does not mean it IS the right one. It just states it is most probable. Probabilities leave the possibility of something being wrong as well. It is due to probabilities we take risks. We succeed or we fail. Stating Occam's Razor is not the end of a discussion. It may be a way to indicate probabilities, yet to cover your basis you should also consider other possibilities. (There is a logical fallacy attached to Occam's Razor: It's called an Appeal to Probability)

Source: giphy.com

The will of God / You gotta have faith

I've always enjoyed a good debate. I can't really say much in this particular area other than I often hear the following statements used in a sense that effectively means "Stop questioning, and just believe what I say."

It is the will of God., Because God wanted it that way, You gotta have faith, or It's called faith.

I like to ask questions. I also believe in the fallibility of myself as well as my fellow humans. So why should I believe a human that is speaking with me with authority knows the will of God? Do they hear voices? If so how do we know for certain it is not Schizophrenia? Conversely, how do we know it is not in fact the voice of God? (I personally don't believe in that type of manifestation.) I like to ask questions. I am okay with a person saying "I don't know." I happen to be fond of that statement myself. I don't particularly care for these statements designed to make me stop asking questions.

Source: giphy.com

That's how X does it?

Okay so X did something a certain way. Does that mean that was the best way? Does it mean it was the worst way? Does it mean that is how everyone should always do it?

This could actually fall under the logical fallacy type of the Historian's Fallacy. Though depending upon how it was delivered and what the context is it could be actually other types of fallacies including the Appeal to Authority.

It should be noted that X doing it a certain way may indeed be enough to convince you. That sometimes can make sense. The only reason I mention it here is that we shouldn't always accept that as a valid reason or excuse.

Source: giphy.com - image not completely relevant, but I thought it was funny.

That is how it has always been done before?

Great. What if it's always been done the wrong way? What if there is a better way? Certainly we should consider how it has been done before, yet that doesn't mean we should shut our brains down and not consider alternatives.

This is a type of fallacy called an Appeal to Tradition.

Source: giphy.com

X said it was okay.

This is kind of casting the blame and responsibility on another. Depending upon the situation this may be a true excuse. You know as well as I that there are many cases where this is NOT a good excuse. It can be used by a person to try to avoid responsibility for actions that they truly had a choice to avoid. Any of you that are parents that have children in teenage years or those that have children that went through that age period have likely heard this one before. Perhaps you remember using this excuse yourself... ;)

Source: giphy.com

It was my government, not me.

Our governments are indeed powerful, and in many cases they are doing many things without consulting us. In fact, that is true of most things.

You are however responsible for supporting your government. If you are an anarchist like me you do it only out of self preservation because you'll be dead or in jail if you don't submit. Yet if you are not an anarchist and you believe in any form of elections (even for witnesses on steemit) then when actions are taken by people you support YOU are partially responsible.

While this type of excuse may not be completely in your control, it also does not free you from all responsibility.

Source: giphy.com