LET'S TALK ABOUT ONE THING THAT IS ON
EVERYBODY'S MIND WHEN IT COMES TO THE ISSUE OF SAM HARRIS.
THIS ISSUE OF THE NUCLEAR FIRST STRIKE.
THIS IS AN ISSUE THAT SAM AND
HIS SUPPORTERS POINT TO MOST OFTEN, WHERE HE IS MOST
MISREPRESENTED.
HAS THERE EVER BEEN AN OPPONENT OF SAM HARRIS WHO IS NOT
MISREPRESENTING HIM?
YOU WILL SEE IT HERE IN THIS EXAMPLE, HOW HE WORDS THINGS
SO THAT LATER HE CAN TURN AROUND AND SAY, YOU'D MISREPRESENTED
ME, YOU AREN'T AN HONEST PERSON.
EVERYBODY HATE HIM.
LET'S TAKE THIS EXAMPLE, AND BREAK IT DOWN.
WE'RE NOT GOING TO MISREPRESENT HIM,
WE'RE GOING TO SHOW YOU AS MUCH OF THE VIDEO AS WE POSSIBLY CAN.
I WANT TO GIVE YOU A CHANCE TO REALLY KNOW WHAT YOU
ARE DEFENDING.
SAM WRITES IN HIS BOOK,
"IT SHOULD BE OF PARTICULAR
CONCERN TO US THAT THE BELIEFS OF MUSLIMS POSE A SPECIAL
PROBLEM FOR NUCLEAR DETERRENCE.
THERE IS LITTLE POSSIBILITY OF OUR HAVING A COLD WAR WITH
AN ISLAMIST REGIME ARMED WITH LONG-RANGE NUCLEAR WEAPONS.
A COLD WAR REQUIRES THAT THE PARTIES BE MUTUALLY
DETERRED BY THE THREAT OF DEATH.
NOTIONS OF MARTYRDOM AND JIHAD RUN ROUGHSHOD OVER THE
LOGIC THAT ALLOWED THE UNITED STATES AND THE SOVIET UNION
TO SPEND THE BETTER PART OF A DECADE PERCHED ON THE BRINK
OF ARMAGEDDON.
WHAT WILL WE DO IF AN ISLAMIST REGIME, WHICH GOES DEWEY-EYED
AT THE MERE MENTION OF PARADISE, EVER ACQUIRES
LONG-RANGE NUCLEAR WEAPONRY?
IF HISTORY IS ANY GUIDE, WILL NOT BE SURE ABOUT WHERE THE
OFFENDING WARHEADS ARE, OR WHAT THEIR STATE OF READINESS
IS, AND SO WEíLL BE UNABLE TO RELY ON TARGETED,
CONVENTIONAL WEAPONS TO DESTROY THEM.
IN SUCH A SITUATION, THE ONLY THING LIKELY TO ENSURE OUR
SURVIVAL MAY BE A NUCLEAR FIRST STRIKE OF OUR OWN.
NEEDLESS TO SAY, THIS WOULD BE AN UNTHINKABLE CRIME, AS IT
WOULD KILL TENS OF MILLIONS OF INNOCENT CIVILIANS IN A
SINGLE DAY ñ BUT IT MAY BE THE ONLY COURSE OF ACTION
AVAILABLE TO US, GIVEN WHAT ISLAMISTS BELIEVE."
OKAY.
HE SAID IT WAS AN UNTHINKABLE CRIME AND THEN HE SAID,
MAYBE WE SHOULD DO IT.
NOT TODAY, NOT RANDOMLY, BUT WHAT IF AN ISLAMIST, A
DANGEROUS ISLAMIST REGIME, WHO CANNOT BE TRUSTED TO ACT
RATIONALLY, HAD ONE?
WELL THEN, MAYBE WE'D HAVE TO KILL TENS OF MILLIONS OF
CIVILIANS.
THIS IS ONE OF HIS FAMOUS THOUGHT EXPERIMENTS, I'M
JUST SAYING.
LET'S TAKE THE SAME THOUGHT EXPERIMENT AND DO ONE
SIMPLE CHANGE.
CHANGE THE LOCATION AND SEE IF IT IS STILL A MAYBE.
RADICAL SOVEREIGN CITIZEN GROUP IN AMERICA WHO HATES THE
GOVERNMENT GETS A HOLD OF A NUCLEAR WARHEAD.
THEY MIGHT LAUNCH IT TOWARDS WASHINGTON, BUT THEY ARE IN
TALLAHASSEE. YOU KNOW WHAT?
YOU DON'T LIKE THAT EXAMPLE, LET'S STICK WITH ISLAMISTS.
AN ISIS GUY HAS INFILTRATED, THEY HAVE A SLEEPER CELL.
THEY ARE IN TALLAHASSEE, BUT WE DO NOT KNOW WHERE, AND THEY
MAY ATTACK WASHINGTON.
DO WE NUKE FLORIDA AND KILL TENS OF THOUSANDS OF INNOCENT
CIVILIANS THAT ARE AMERICANS CIVILIANS?
WOULD ANYONE THINK THAT IS REASONABLE, OR STILL IN THE
RANGE OF CONSIDERATION?
OF COURSE NOT, THOSE ARE AMERICAN CITIZENS.
THEY COUNT, THEY MATTER.
LET'S SAY AN ISIS GUY GETS A WARHEAD, BUT GOD DAMN HE'S
IN A SLEEPER CELL IN TEL AVIV.
THOUGHT EXERCISE, WHAT IF WE KILLED 10 MILLION JEWS TO MAKE
SURE WE GET THAT GUY, BECAUSE HE MIGHT LAUNCH AT SEATTLE?
I'M SURE SOME OF YOU WILL SAY, IT IS JUST A THOUGHT EXERCISE.
IF A PALESTINIAN PROFESSOR HAD A THOUGHT EXERCISE ABOUT KILLING
10 MILLION INNOCENT JEWS IN ISRAEL, OF COURSE HE WAS
STILL HAVE HIS JOB.
MAYBE, I TEND TO DOUBT IT.
>> VIDEO BUFFERING.
>> I'M PROUD TO BE ON THIS SIDE.
BY THE WAY, SAM
IS
NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO THINKS THIS WAY.
DONALD TRUMP, "CERTAIN THINGS WILL BE DONE THAT WE NEVER
THOUGHT WOULD HAPPEN IN THIS COUNTRY IN TERMS OF INFORMATION
AND LEARNING ABOUT THE ENEMY.
WE MIGHT HAVE TO LOOK AT THINGS THAT WERE FRANKLY
UNTHINKABLE A YEAR AGO."
MAYBE, IT'S TERRIBLE, IT WAS UNTHINKABLE YEAR AGO, BUT
NOW I'M THINKING ABOUT IT.
IT IS A THOUGHT EXPERIMENT.
>> I WOULD HATE TO DO IT, BUT IT IS SOMETHING YOU ARE GOING
TO HAVE TO STRONGLY CONSIDER.
NOT ME, BUT MANY PEOPLE ARE CONSIDERING IT.
>> NOT ME, I DID NOT SAY IT, BUT MAYBE WE HAVE TO DO IT.
WHAT CHOICE DO WE HAVE? WHERE HAVE I SEEN THAT BEFORE?
ONE MORE.
>> NOBODY WANTS TO SAY THIS, AND NOBODY WANTS TO SHUT DOWN
RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS OR ANYTHING, BUT YOU UNDERSTAND
IT, A LOT OF PEOPLE UNDERSTAND IT, WE'RE GONNA HAVE NO CHOICE.
SOME REALLY BAD THINGS ARE HAPPENING, AND THEY ARE
HAPPENING FAST.
>> WHAT STARTS OUT AS A THOUGHT EXPERIMENT, AND THEN MAYBE
TURNS INTO, THEY ARE SO BAD, THEY ARE SO IRREDEEMABLE.
THESE PARTICULAR SET OF PEOPLE ARE SO BAD, WE DON'T HAVE A
CHOICE.
AND ALL OF A SUDDEN, IT IS A POLICY.
THAT IS A LEADING CONTENDER ON THE REPUBLICAN SIDE.
IF HE BECOMES PRESIDENT, IT IS NOT A THOUGHT EXPERIMENT
ANYMORE.
AND TED CRUZ, POLICY SPECIFIC, SAYING I WILL KEEP OUT THE
SYRIAN REFUGEES.
I WILL DO A RELIGIOUS TEST IN AMERICA.
PREVIOUSLY UNTHINKABLE, NOW EVERYBODY IS HAVING A
THOUGHT EXPERIMENT ABOUT IT.
AND SAM HARRIS SAYS, WE SHOULD DO THAT POLICY.
OKAY, IF YOU THINK MUSLIMS ARE IRREDEEMABLE, A HIGH
PERCENTAGE OF THEM ARE ISLAMIC, SO WE SHOULD DO A RELIGIOUS
TEST, WE SHOULD KEEP OUT THE MUSLIMS, WE SHOULD PROFILE
THEM, MAYBE ID BADGES, MAYBE, AND ALL THE OTHER MAYBES.
OKAY, THEN WE ARE CLEAR, YOU ARE ON THAT SIDE.
THE REST OF US ARE ON THIS SIDE. AND NOW, GO AHEAD AND LAUNCH,
EVEN I HAVE GIVEN YOU FOR CONTEXT, TELL ME HOW THE BELOVED
DOCTOR HARRIS IS ONCE AGAIN MISREPRESENTED BY HIS OWN WORDS,
AND ONCE AGAIN MISUNDERSTOOD BY FEEBLE MINDS LIKE NOAM CHOMSKY.
GO FORWARD.