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The Human Condition and Living Together
The sexual impulse... next to the love of life... shows itself the
strongest and most powerful of motives; constantly lays claim to half
the powers and thoughts of the younger portion of mankind, to the
ultimate goal of almost all human efforts, interrupts the most serious
occupations every hour, sometimes embarrasses for a while even the
greatest minds, does not hesitate to intrude with its trash,
interfering with the negotiations of statesmen and the investigations
of men of learning, knows how to slip its love letters and locks of
hair even into ministerial portfolios and philosophical manuscripts,
and no less devises daily the most entangled and the worst actions,
destroys the most valuable relationships, breaks the firmest bond,
demands the sacrifice sometimes of life or health, sometimes of wealth,
rank, and happiness, nay, robs those who are otherwise honest of all
conscience, makes those who have hitherto been faithful, traitors;
accordingly on the whole, appears as a malevolent demon that strives to
pervert, confuse and overthrow everything.
All Too Human (Back Bay Books: 2000)
Because I believe in original sin, because I know that I'm capable of craving a cold beer in a village of starving kids, because I know that selfishness vies for space in our hearts with compassion, I believe we need government. A government that forces us to care about the common good even when we don't feel like it, a government that helps channel our better instincts and check our bad ones. I don't think government is good, just necessary.

