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"Methuselah Jones"  wrote in message 
news:Xns9846E172B2E63methuselahaltgeekorg{at}216.196.97.131...
> Carved in mystic runes upon the very living rock, the last words of Simo
> Sakari Aaltonen of rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated make plain:
>
>> And how does Sheridan live up to this decision not to choose at all?
>> The answer is that he doesn't.
>>
>> Sheridan: "... we're riding in ... Anyone who wants to defect and join
>> us, fine. If they get in the way, we'll knock them down. If they kill
>> one of our ships, we'll kill three of theirs ... And God help anybody
>> who gets in our way."
>>
>> This is the Shadow solution.
>
> No, that's finishing a fight someone else started. The Shadows started
> fights -- not even directly, but acting behind the scenes to get others
> to fight. Defending your home against a lunatic who's gotten into power
> is an entirely different animal.
>
> Peace is only possible when *everyone* participates. It's fine to work
> for peace, but that doesn't mean letting yourself get rolled over by
> those who haven't gotten the message yet.

Moreover fighting was the only way to break the Younger Race's trall to 
being put through endless repetitions of fight, fight fight.  Not all 
fighting is created equal.

One might go so far as to add that the shadow philosophy has the effect of 
inhibiting races from ascending to the plateau that the First Ones enjoy. 
The immense gap between the youngest First One and the current crop of 
Younger races seems to indicate plenty of casualties.  Everybody falters in 
war sometime and they'd have to get through a fresh dose of it every 
thousand years for--what?  A million years?  The closest-come might have 
been the race that built the organic technology artifacts we saw in 
"infection."  But they're dust now, too.  Killed by their own protectors, 
IIRC.

Nor is Sheridan advocating shadow-style evolution.  He is in fact actively 
engaged in resisiting it.


-- 
John Trauger,
Vorlonagent


"Methane martini.
Shaken, not stirred."


"Spirituality without science has no mind.

Science without spirituality has no heart."

-Methuselah Jones
                                                                           
                            
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