People will die. Yes, and?

Once again Justice Scalia cries out that people will die because we are supporting the Constitution - that Habeas Corpus "will certainly cause more Americans to be killed".

Let's accept that. Just for right now, let's accept that that appeal to fear is in fact true.

I would remind the justice that yes, people will die - everyone will die. Everyone will die. It's called life. The question is what do you live - and die - for? If it's just the preservation of (in the eloquent words of Sarah Vowell) of "mere flesh ... our personal greasy molecules", then why do we deserve to live, and how are we different from those whom Justice Scalia and his ideological kin would deny the protection of the ideals that make us deserving of life? Justice Scalia's rant is - or should be - the only thing a rational person needs to decide which candidate to vote for.

"For the American people are not mere flesh whose greatest hope is to keep our personal greasy molecules intact; we, sir, are a body politic -- with ideals."