December 2009
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Letters to The Ethical Spectacle

Spectacle Letters Column Guidelines. If you write to me about something you read in the Spectacle, I will assume the letter is for publication. If it is not, please tell me, and I will respect that. If you want the letter published, but without your name attached, I will do so. I will not include your email address unless you ask me to. This is in response to many of you who have expressed concern that spammers are finding your email address here. Flames are an exception. T hey will be published in full, with name and email address. I have actually had people follow up on a published flame by complaining that they thought they were insulting my ancestry privately. Nope, sorry.


Dear Jonathan:

I read your article about CraigsList which was very interesting, especially since it wasn't about what I anticipated at all. I thought you were going to talk about that killer who found his victims through CL, but you didn't mention him. I agree CL is pretty raw and I count myself lucky to have found some good clients for my communication services by using it. Looking at CL for clients means wading through endless scam postings searching for something legitimate which can be very time consuming. CL reminds me most of the HBO series, Deadwood. If you haven't seen it, Deadwood is a very realistic look at the American West which means it's very very raw and a far cry from the romantic depictions people have loved for decades. Perhaps, someday we'll look back on the early years of the Internet and be honest about how raw it really is.

Toni


Hi! First I would like to commend you on your essay Humiltty, Compassion and Death, I've referenced it a couple of times in papers/speeches of my own because I think you have a great philosophy/approach to the argument.

I am emailing you because of what you said about morality in the sixth paragraph here:

Regrettably, I do not see evidence in this world for the 'is' where morality is concerned.

I am operating under the assumption that you are speaking of the objectivity (is) and subjectivity (ought) of morals. I don't have time to lay out all I think of the matter, but I just wanted to recommend a book to you if you are interested in further pursuing the topic. The book is "The Best Things in Life" by Peter Kreeft. The last section or "chapter" of the book is all about the subjectivity/objectivity of morals and presents what I consider to be a pretty solid logical argument for the objectivity (is) of morality.

Thanks for being a splendid writer and good luck in all of your endeavors,

Rachael Faulkner