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But respect...
Respect... is the seeking of reason between living beings.
To deny respect to anyone is the same as nullifying them.
It is unnatural in all of this earth's creatures
To not heed or respect another,
And it is considered as a threat.
We too, are damaged and distorted
When we are not given respect.
Nullification by disrespect is a kind of murder...
And grows in the same garden as murder.
The concepts are the same.
The worst criminals convicted of the worst crimes
Are still living as human beings,
Whatever their sort of insanity may be.
We have the duty to protect ourselves from criminals,
And to protect criminals from each other,
But we do not have the right
To remove their humanity
By denying them their dignity.
We become as base as any criminal when we do.
We may even justify their criminality when we do...
When we demonstrate how even righteous men are cruel...
That one just needs the right excuse
In order to violate another human being.
The crime itself then, is no longer the issue...
The issue becomes having the right excuse
For committing the crime.
As civilized human beings,
Our regard for each other's humanity
Must be sure and clear, and not given to excuses.
We must master with reasoning
What we wish to prove by our laws.
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