Would you be willing to die for any of your beliefs?

[DemBones DemBones]

Obviously those who aren't religious wouldn't be willing to die for a religious belief, but what about other beliefs?

No one can be sure what he or she would do if actually pressured, but what would you try to do?

Would you be willing to risk your life to stand up for your political beliefs? Or would you be goose-stepping with the best of them?

What about standing up for your religion/ atheism/ agnosticism? Would you pretend to follow a faith you don't believe in?

Would you denounce your family to save your own neck? What about your friends?

EDIT: PLEASE READ THE LAST CHOICE (#6) CAREFULLY. SOME MAY BE CHOOSING THAT WHEN THEY MEANT TO CHOOSE #5.

Either that, or as soon as I added it, there was a sudden increase in votes from people willing to be self-sacrificng. :shrug:

[skooooo]

1. Tough question...

....I'm not really sure.

[donco6]

2. None of the above.

There are words, and there are actions.

Words, IMO, don't mean shit - loyalty oaths to imposed dicatorial regimes, promises at gunpoint, blah blah. I'd lie my ass off.

But actively betraying someone with words, that's another story.

[kayell]

6. Agreed. Choices 1 & 2 are about words, while 3 & 4 are about

actions. I would never abandon my family or friends, but would have no problem lieing my head off if I thought that would protect me and mine.

I also would have no moral qualms about swearing allegiance, if threatened, to an illicit govt, while working underground for the overthrouw of such a regime. IMO any oath taken under duress is worthless.

[donco6]

9. Totally agree. eom

[DemBones DemBones]

3. I added another choice for those who would risk their lives

rather than do any of the above.

[yellowcanine]

4. Die, yes...Kill, No. There is a difference between being willing to die

and being willing to kill for something.

[rhino47]

5. If my death meant the end of

poverty
healtcare for all
war
enforced religion
and kept my family safe
Considering that all that would mean
the end of the far right thats just an added plus.
Sign me up.

[LWolf]

7. How can I possibly know

unless faced with the reality of such a choice?

I honestly don't know how to answer.

I guess it would come down to the end results of my choice. What would bring the least harm to all concerned.

[DemBones DemBones]

10. I tried to cover that in my second sentence:

"No one can be sure what he or she would do if actually pressured, but what would you try to do?"

The poll is asking what you would try to do or hope you would do.

Earlier, there was a poll asking whether you would die for your religion, and I wanted to expand the topic, basically asking if anything is worth dying for.

Until I added choice #6, most people were going for #4, choosing to die rather than abandon family.

[LWolf]

13. okay.

I would choose the path, according to my best judgement, that brought the least harm to the fewest people. It depends on the ultimate cost of each choice.

If the price was my death, I would pay it to keep loved ones and innocent people from harm.

[Nikia]

8. I'm not sure

Idealistically I would be. On the otherhand as one of my friends read about some guy that killed himself in protest he said "What an idiot. He killed himself for a cause and now he is dead. A lot of good that did. He can't fight for his cause anymore." That is true also.
Each situation is different. While I might undertake heroic actions to save others like my family, friends, spread political and religious beliefs, it is a little different when you are at gunpoint and know that what you say or do at that moment will result in your death at that moment. If I privately renounce my poilitcal or religious beliefs and am allowed to continue to live on in relative freedom with only my own conscience at stake, it is different than if I had become a public figure and am told to renounce those beliefs publically which may cause others to abandon their beliefs.

[DemBones DemBones]

11. You're getting into other areas: suicide committed as protest,

effect of a public figure renouncing beliefs under pressure, etc. We could also discuss other variations: would you renounce your beliefs (political or religious) in order to receive food if you were hungry? I don't mean "Would you sit through some sermons or political speeches to get food if you were hungry?" but "Would you turn against your beliefs to get food when hungry?"

The poll attempts to assess what people would put their lives on the line for, if anything, how far they'd go in compromising either what they believe in or in protecting their family or friends.

It's definitely about conscience, though.

[Solly Mack]

12. I did almost die for my beliefs

civil rights march-carload of peckerwoods almost ran me down..but for college students from Morehouse, I believe it was..I would be dead. The gentlemen ran out into the road, nearly sacrificing themselves, to pull me to safety.

I didn't attend the event thinking this could be the day I die...but die I could have.

I believe those gentlemen reacted without thinking..I was a fellow human in danger and, without thought to their own safety, they risked their lives to save mine. I'd like to think we would all respond in like manner...and Not because we hold certain beliefs..but because we live those beliefs..



it's not that anyone wants to die for what they believe...it's more a case of others thinking you should die for what you believe. All we can do is to accept the risk....or betray everything we hold to be true.

I don't want to die to prove the strength of my convictions..but if that is what I must face, I only ask that I show the courage those gentlemen did that day.


I didn't vote in your poll. I know no one knows exactly how they would behave until the moment is upon them...the will to live is strong.

[GreenPartyVoter]

14. Aside from sacrificing myself for my family's sake, I'd be more likely

to "swear allegienec" or what-have-you out of one side of my mouth and organize a resistance out of the other.

(And may God never put me in a position that I have to prove this.)