put-downs [OB] What Dalinar Should Have Said, or "L'esprit de l'fabrial-lift"

[Alderant]

My personal thoughts on this topic are thus:

Eight of the most morally evil words in the English language are the phrases "For the greater good" and "the lesser of two evils". Those who use these phrases are those who are, at some point of higher level guilt, trying to excuse the actions that they are taking. No good person commits a heinous act willingly. This is a topic of great debate in the TV show The 100, but the big difference between Dalinar and Amaram, as I see it, is that Dalinar ultimately owns up to his actions, and Amaram ultimately tries to excuse them away.

Dalinar, despite his wicked and murderous history, has become the kind of man who will not sacrifice his people just to gain an advantage or because of "the greater good". He will do everything within his power to save everyone he can--he views all humanity as important and valuable. There are many other directions Dalinar could have gone in the book. He could have taken the path of the Warlord, as Taravangian did. He could have conquered Roshar and forced it into unity behind him. His conquering and slaughtering of the other nations would have been "for the greater good," since he would have known of the coming threat to humanity. But he didn't. He sought unity and peace, but never tried to excuse his actions as not his fault. He was trying to be a good man, and because of this he was ultimately able to stand up to Odium.

Amaram, on the other hand, does the exact opposite. He takes the easy route, excusing his actions as "for the greater good" to soothe his conscience. He knows what he's doing is morally reprehensible, but he continually tells himself that it's "for the greater good," therefore he shouldn't have to feel the guilt for the consequences. "It's not my fault that these men have to die, I'm the best candidate. Their deaths are for the greater good." This is a simple example of how these words twist Amaram's conscience, and because of that, he ultimately succumbed to Odium's temptations that his actions were not his fault.